Reporter Presses Pelosi as She Calls Netanyahu’s Conduct ‘Inexcusable’: ‘You Own This Operation Every Bit as Much as They Do’

Screenshot via DW News YouTube

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct during the Israel-Hamas war “inexcusable,” but stood by the country’s right to defend itself when pressed by a reporter at the annual Munich Security Conference.

Reporter Tim Sebastian, who hosts Conflict Zone for Deutsche Welle, noted in a discussion over the weekend with Pelosi that both she and President Joe Biden have criticized the thousands of civilian casualties in the country’s strikes on Gaza. He pressed Pelosi on whether the United States has a red line for Israel and whether they “own” the Gaza operation as much as their ally.

“If you don’t like what Israel is doing, and the president has made it clear that some of what Israel is doing he doesn’t like, and you go on supplying them with hardware to do these things you own this operation every bit as much as they do, don’t you?” Sebastian asked the former House Speaker.

Pelosi pushed back, claiming that no U.S. weaponry has been involved with the “brutality” that has happened in Gaza. Israel’s strikes on Gaza are in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack, which led to more than 1,000 deaths and hundreds being kidnapped. Netanyahu has said his military operation will not end until Hamas is eliminated.

Pelosi called Netanyahu’s conduct “inexcusable.”

“No, we don’t. We don’t. We have always supported Israel as our national security friend largely because it was in our interest to do so,” she said. “We had shared values, [it’s] the only democracy in the region. The behavior of Netanyahu is, in my view, inexcusable in terms of how it has effected the collateral damage of children and families and the rest, but nobody can take away the right of any country to defend itself that has been brutally attacked in that way.”

Sebastian pushed further on the topic, noting that European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell suggested recently that the U.S. not support Israel with weapons in light of Gaza casualties.

Pelosi argued Israel has plenty of weapons on their own.

“There’s nothing that we have sent since Oct. 7 that has contributed to this brutality,” she said.

Watch the entire discussion between Sebastian and Pelosi above. The referenced portion begins at approximately 7:30.