Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is facing backlash for remarks that justified Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Clinton drew criticism after he said Hamas "forced" Israel to kill Palestinian civilians during a rally in the state of Michigan in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
He said he understands "why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died -- I get that."
"But if you lived in one of those kibbutzim in Israel right next to Gaza, where the people there were the most pro-friendship with Palestine, most pro-two-state solution of any of the Israeli communities -- were the ones right next to Gaza. And Hamas butchered them," he said.
"Well, you'll have to forgive me, I'm not keeping score that way," said Clinton. "It isn't how many we've had to kill. Because Hamas makes sure that they're shielded by civilians, they'll force you to kill civilians if you want to defend yourself."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the remarks that demonized a group of people.
"Bill Clinton's callous and dishonest attempt to justify the Israeli government's attacks on civilians in Gaza was as insulting as it was Islamophobic," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. "It is completely unacceptable to dismissively reference Islam and falsely claim that every Palestinian man, woman and child killed by Israel was a human shield."
Yousef Munayyer, the head of the Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow at Arab Center Washington DC, wrote on X: "The Clinton's are so incredibly bitter over their pathetic failure to make peacemaking part of their Presidential legacy as their rival Carter had done, that they've resorted to decades of blaming the victims. Failure to own shortcomings is the quintessential Clinton quality."
Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, the first Arab-majority city in the U.S., urged Harris not to send "surrogates" like Clinton to her rallies.
"Rumor has it the Dems want to send Bill Clinton to Dearborn to rally the Arab vote this weekend. Do us a favor - stop sending surrogates who have no respect or regard for this community. You're only inflicting more damage," he wrote on X.
The Biden administration has repeatedly faced criticism for its unconditional support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 43,160 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 101,500 injured, according to local health authorities.
The onslaught has displaced almost the territory's entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its brutal war on Gaza.
