McConnell: Terrorists Who Take Innocent Hostages Responsible For Consequences Of Their Actions
‘The detention of Israeli hostages in family homes is a predictable extension of this despicable practice. And every drop of blood spilt this weekend is the responsibility of the party that violated a ceasefire, launched a barbaric attack, took innocent hostages, and has refused calls from around the world to release them. These are the basic facts. But predictably, they’re not what we read over the weekend in the coverage of Western media.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Israel:
“On Saturday, in a daring daytime raid, Israel rescued four innocent hostages who had suffered in Hamas captivity since October 7th.
“The mission was the product of careful planning. It demanded the utmost secrecy, professionalism, and bravery. And in the case of one elite commander, it required the ultimate sacrifice.
“The people of Israel can take pride in their nation’s dedication to restoring its security and delivering justice for the brutal attacks that shattered a quiet Sabbath morning last fall.
“Of course, this same operation also exposed even further the tremendous obstacle that continues to threaten Israel’s sovereignty and block the prospect of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
“It brought into focus the appalling lengths to which hardened terrorists will go to sow chaos and exploit innocent suffering.
“And it raised uncomfortable questions about the broader complicity of some Palestinian civilians.
“With the help of U.S. intelligence, the Israeli forces’ mission led them not to the depths of Hamas terror tunnels but to the heart of a refugee camp run by the United Nations, and to the family home of a Hamas terrorist who self-identified as a journalist.
“So Mr. President, the brutal exploitation of civilians is a well-documented tactic in Hamas’ playbook.
“These are, after all, the terrorists who repeatedly deploy their weapons and combatants in or beneath schools, hospitals, and mosques in order to use civilians as human shields.
“The detention of Israeli hostages in family homes is a predictable extension of this despicable practice.
“And every drop of blood spilt this weekend is the responsibility of the party that violated a ceasefire, launched a barbaric attack, took innocent hostages, and has refused calls from around the world to release them.
“These are the basic facts.
“But predictably, they’re not what we read over the weekend in the coverage of Western media.
“Instead of outrage that a Hamas terrorist would exploit their profession as a cover for hostage-keeping, major publications have directed their indignation at Israel for seeing through the terrorists’ flimsy cover as doctors and journalists and daring to bring its people home.
“One major national paper’s initial coverage of the raid made no mention of the fact that Hamas had chosen to hide its hostages in private homes.
“Just days after publishing its own analysis of the bogus casualty reporting of the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, another outlet reverted to breathlessly parroting the terrorist group’s own death toll propaganda in the headlines of its coverage on the hostage rescue.
“And to the surprise of absolutely no one, the UN’s so-called Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights shamelessly accused Israel of using hostages to legitimize killing innocent civilians.
“If this is the media diet the American people have to consume, then what came next should surprise no one.
“In New York, masked protesters waving Hizballah flags jeered at visitors to an exhibit honoring the victims of the October 7th attack on the music festival from which the hostages freed this weekend were abducted.
“Predictably, news broadcasts characterized the protesters, who chanted ‘Long live the intifada’ and ‘Israel, go to hell’, were merely ‘pro-Palestinian’… not anti-Israel.
“Meanwhile, unhinged throngs of Hamas apologists occupied Lafayette Square outside the White House, defacing statues, attacking law enforcement, and chanting disgusting anti-Semitic slurs.
“A generation of useful idiots and fifth columnists, adrift on a sea of performative sympathy for terrorists and beyond the reach of fact or reality. Lest anyone doubt, this contagion is not confined to so-called elite universities.
“Americans who are rightly worried about crime and violence might wonder why on earth the President would permit this lawlessness on federal property, let alone the park outside the White House. Or why no arrests were made.
“And they especially ought to wonder why the Biden Administration chose this moment – as the people of Israel celebrate a small but precious victory in securing the freedom of four of its citizens – to try and box Israel in with a stunt vote at the UN… And why the White House so desperately wants to constrain our ally’s freedom of movement and to micromanage its military.
“This weekend’s developments may feel like a significant inflection point. But the fundamental realities of this situation have not changed.
“Israel has a right to defend itself.
“Terrorists have no right to take innocent hostages.
"And they alone bear responsibility for the consequences of their actions.”
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