MSNBC Chief Correspondent Ali Velshi and commentator Ayman Mohyeldin criticized Israel after Palestinian terrorists launched an attack against Israeli soldiers and civilians Saturday morning, killing at least 100 and wounding over 800.
Israel was attacked by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic terrorist group that is funded in-part by Iran, during the holiday of Simchat Torah and on Shabbat — the Jewish day of rest that is observed by many in Israel. Reporting on the news Saturday morning with a Palestinian political activist, Velshi said U.S. politicians responding to the war in support of Israel, mostly Republicans, are ignoring the “nuance” of the situation and criticized “Israel’s inhumane treatment of the Palestinians who live under Israeli occupation.”
“Lots of Palestinians have said to me, ‘Boy do they wish that those same Israelis who were out protesting the so-called judicial reforms would be protesting Israel’s inhumane treatment of the Palestinians who live under Israeli occupation, but that’s just not something that’s happening,” Velshi said. “It’s not something that we’re hearing from American politicians this morning.”
Nour Odeh, the Palestinian political activist who joined Velshi for the segment, added, “Unfortunately you’re right. American politicians and other politicians think they can just ignore the context in which all of this is happening and the fact that Israel is an occupying power.”
Odeh claimed that Israel was not getting criticized by world leaders because it is a U.S. ally. She went on to defend the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hamas and cautioned viewers “not to get dragged into the good guy vs. bad guy equation.”
“We have to look at the bigger picture,” Odeh added.
“Nour, thanks for your comment and I’d like to keep in touch with you as this develops because it’s going to develop,” Velshi replied.
Good thing @AliVelshi and @msnbc aren’t waiting for the bloodshed to end before providing the right “context” — Israel had it coming, U.S. doesn’t care because arms industry $$, and politicians who express support for Israel in the hours after a surprise attack are boobs. pic.twitter.com/uQr6iRa7A3
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 7, 2023
Velshi also talked to Ayman Mohyeldin, an MSNBC political commentator, who expressed concern for Palestinians after they attacked Israel, saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads “the most far, extremist, Jewish nationalist government that it has existed.”
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“What are you going to do? Are you going to re-occupy the Gaza Strip? Repopulate it with settlements? Are you going in there to try to kill every Hamas leader?” Mohyeldin asked. “They’ve been doing that for years. That has not changed.”
MSNBC's @AymanM: Netanyahu leads "the most far, extremist, Jewish nationalist government that it has existed … What are you going to do? Are you going to re-occupy the Gaza Strip? Repopulate it with settlements? Are you going in there to try to kill every Hamas leader? They’ve… pic.twitter.com/QpZFaa0O9d
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 7, 2023
The terrorist attack on Israel happened on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war — known as the Yom Kippur War — where Israel’s Arab neighbors launched a surprise attack during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish Calendar. Videos and images shared Saturday by Hamas in celebration showed the bodies of Israeli soldiers and citizens being desecrated by Palestinians. The Islamic terrorists roamed the streets hunting for Israeli citizens, and Hamas said that it had taken dozens of soldiers and citizens hostage.
During his criticism of Israel, Velshi, a Canadian Muslim, praised Qatar’s statement on the war started by Palestinian terrorists. Qatar joined Saudi Arabia and Iran in condemning Israel following Hamas’ attack after Western leaders stood behind Israel.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds Israel alone responsible for the current escalation due to this ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, the latest of which is the repeated raids on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under of the protection of Israeli police,” Qatar said in a statement.
Israel has faced constant threats and attacks in recent years from Islamic terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, dismantling Israeli settlements, removing military members, and evacuating Jewish civilians — sometimes by force. Despite claims by leftists and Palestinian activists such as Velshi and Odeh that Palestinians in Gaza are under “Israeli occupation,” Gaza is under complete Palestinian control.
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.