Huckabee insists US has ‘no valid reason’ to support Israel-Hamas cease-fire

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) made a case Saturday against the Biden administration’s support for a cease-fire deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

“Well, there’s no valid reason to have a cease-fire with Hamas. They’re not capable of having an honorable negotiation,” he said Saturday in an interview with NewsNation’s Hena Doba. “And every time something is put on the table, they pretend that they’re gonna listen to it, they pretend that they’re for it and then they always reject it.”

The former governor argued that there’s only one solution to ending the war in Gaza: Hamas surrendering.

“This is like trying to negotiate with the Nazis in World War II. You just don’t,” he said. “You beat them. You defeat them. You eradicate them.”

Huckabee also noted that Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel in October, which sparked the ongoing conflict in the region and led to the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and over 240 people taken captive, was unconscionable and there’s no way to work with them toward a cease-fire deal.

“So, I think all this pretense about ‘We’ve got to work with Hamas, we’ve got to talk to them,’ two things ought to happen: Hamas surrenders unconditionally, and all the hostages are released,” he told Doba.

The former governor’s statements come about a week after President Biden announced the terms of a three-part Israeli-led cease-fire proposal. Despite Biden’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the conditions for ending the war have not changed, adding that the hostages must be released, and bodies be returned for a cease-fire to come to pass.

They also follow news Saturday morning from the Israeli military that four hostages were rescued from Gaza.

The White House is counting on the Israeli public to help push for the cease-fire deal with Hamas, even though his criticism of the Israeli military has caused some controversy.

As the months until the election count down, the president has put his full weight behind the cease-fire deal, which will likely win over a chunk of his voter base in the U.S. who have been opposed to his support for Israel.

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