Palestinian Ambassador Scoffs At ‘Irresponsible’ U.S. Focus On Humanitarian ‘Pauses’ In Gaza War: ‘Pauses Of Crimes Against Humanity?’
Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK Husam Zomlot on Sunday scoffed at the idea of an “humanitarian pause” in fighting to allow for aid to civilians or the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and called U.S. focus on the idea “irresponsible.”
On the latest Face the Nation on CBS, host Margaret Brennan spoke with Palestinian diplomat Zomlot about the Israel-Hamas War after first interviewing U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer and Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog.
Among her questions for Zomlot and prior to grilling the ambassador about condemning the October 7 Hamas terror attack, Brennan asked about Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, and whether the lack of public statement at the time of the interview as indicative that the meeting had been tense.
Zomlot said yes it was tense, because the Palestinian Authority is demanding “an immediate ceasefire to the atrocious, murderous assault by Israel on our civilians.”
He then mocked the idea of humanitarian pauses, which President Joe Biden and his administration have emphasized in public statements and reportedly pressured for in private.
“This whole talk, Margaret, about pauses — pauses, humanitarian pauses — is simply irresponsible,” he said. “Pauses of crimes against humanity?”
“Look –” Brennan began to reply as Zomlot continued.
“So, we’re going to pause for six hours, killing our children, and then we resume killing the children,” he said. “This doesn’t stand even international laws.”
Hamas continues to hold captive more than 200 civilians taken hostage during the October 7 terror attack on Israel, including American citizens — the attack that Zomlot in the same interview with Brennan repeatedly refused to condemn or say violated any international laws.
Israeli ambassador Herzog earlier in Face the Nation cautioned Brennan about the reported death toll in Gaza that, “neither you nor I know how many of them are armed terrorists and how many of them are civilians.”
ZOMLOT: We had some good ideas from Secretary of State Blinken about the future. We heard his commitment to a political resolution that will bring about an end to Israel’s occupation, a comprehensive one that includes the West Bank and Gaza with east Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine.
BRENNAN: Right.
ZOMLOT: And we – we agree with all of that. But there will be a time to discuss that. Now is the time to stop the barrels of the gun, to stop the murder of our civilians.
BRENNAN: Well, you were talking about in –
ZOMLOT: And this whole talk, Margaret, about pauses –
BRENNAN: Yes.
ZOMLOT: Pauses, humanitarian pauses, is simply irresponsible. Pauses of crimes against humanity.
BRENNAN: Look –
ZOMLOT: And so, we’re going to pause for six hours, killing our children, and then we resume killing the children.
BRENNAN: Well –
ZOMLOT: I mean this – this doesn’t stand even international laws.
Watch the clip above, via Face the Nation on CBS.
