OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
1:24 PM – Thursday, November 2, 2023
In order to give himself more time to “get the prisoners out,” President Joe Biden declared that there must be a “pause” in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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On Wednesday, Biden spoke in front of a crowd of 200 people at a campaign reception in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
During his speech, he was cut off by a protester in the audience who identified herself as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg.
“Mr. President, you care about Jewish people. As a rabbi, I need you to call for a cease-fire right now,” Rosenberg yelled.
The audience attempted to calm her down. However, she proceeded to speak up and say, “I would love for you to answer my question,” at which the president reiterated that a “pause” was needed in regards to the war.
“I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out. Give time,” Biden said.
“This is incredibly complicated for the Israelis,” the president said. “It’s incredibly complicated for the Muslim world as well … I supported a two-state solution; I have from the very beginning. The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a terrorist organization. A flat-out terrorist organization. I can thoroughly understand the emotions on the Palestinian side of the argument and the Jewish side of the argument.”
Shortly after, Rosenberg was escorted out of the audience by security guards while chanting “cease-fire now.”
Since the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,400 people in Israel, negotiations to release 239 hostages, including children and elderly citizens, have been ongoing.
More prisoners were taken by other Gazan groups, like the Islamic Jihad, following Hamas’ breach of Israel’s border wall.
According to a White House official, Biden was not establishing a new policy when he initially called for a pause in the conflict.
The official also said that Biden was alluding to encourage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to temporarily “stop the war” in a region of Gaza to give two American-Israeli hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan, the opportunity to escape.
The official mentioned that Netanyahu consented to no Israeli airstrikes in that region of Gaza temporarily.
“I’m the guy that convinced Bibi to call for a cease-fire to let the prisoners out. I’m the guy that talked to Sisi to convince him to open the door,” Biden said.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is Egypt’s president and Bibi refers to Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.
Additionally, Biden stated that the stream of humanitarian help sent to Gaza needed to “increase” after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that “humanitarian pauses must be considered,” referring to food, water, medicine, and additional crucial humanitarian aid.
Biden has continued to show his support of Israel amid the attacks, however, he has gradually altered his response recently to lean more into humanitarian aid and support for Palestinian citizens on the ground in Gaza.
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