Nikki Haley says Palestinians, not just Hamas, can’t be trusted after Oct 7

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has argued that Palestinian civilians cannot be trusted after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

Hamas, a militant group that governs parts of Gaza, launched an attack on Israel on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 Israelis and taking 250 hostages. About 120 hostages remain captive in Gaza, with a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli officials.

In an extended assault on Gaza that has sparked a wave of condemnation and criticism for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in response, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Haley rejected criticism of Netanyahu and Israel during an interview with CNN‘s Jake Tapper that aired on Thursday, arguing that “Americans should not weigh in on who is the head of Israel” and “just need to support Israel regardless of who the head is” before accusing Palestinian civilians of participating in the October 7 attack.

“Three thousand members of Hamas came in, took over their neighborhood, took over the concert site, butchered people, robbed from them, burned people alive and took people hostages,” Haley said. “You know who joined them? Thousands of Palestinian citizens. That’s what no one’s talking about.”

“They looted, they murdered and they helped. And in many cases, and I talked to hostage survivors, they took them back and sold them to Hamas,” she continued. “So why would Netanyahu or anyone in Israel trust Hamas or the Palestinians?”

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.