Omar: Can't Solely Blame Hamas for Lack of Ceasefire, They 'Showed up' for Talks and Have 'Interests'

On Tuesday's “CNN NewsNight,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accused the Biden administration of inaccurately placing the blame for the lack of a six-week ceasefire solely on Hamas because “Hamas showed up to Egypt, it's my understanding, for the negotiations. It was Israel that refused to send negotiators” to the table and “you have to remember that a ceasefire is not something that happens magically. It is a process that is negotiated by different parties that have interests.”

Host Abby Phillip asked, “So, we just had one of your Democratic colleagues, Rep. Moskowitz (D-FL), on the show last night. He suggested that, for example, when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war, that China is using TikTok's algorithms to ramp up divisions in this country, and that's one of the concerns that he has in terms of national security. Do you think there's any validity to that?”

Omar responded, “What I do think that people are finding discomfort [in] is the fact that, for the first time in our nation's history, Americans have access to real images of the horrors that are experienced by Palestinians daily and the onslaught that is taking place. This horrific assault on Gaza really is being streamed to every single person here in this country. So, we no longer have to rely on legacy media to get that information. Every single person has the information directly from the mouths of the people who are being slaughtered.”

Phillip then played video of White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stating that a six-week ceasefire is on the table if Hamas will just release women, injured, and elderly hostages, but they won't.

Phillip then asked, “If a ceasefire is on the table today, Hamas could agree to it today. Does he have a point?”

Omar answered, “Well, Hamas showed up to Egypt, it's my understanding, for the negotiations. It was Israel that refused to send negotiators to be at the table to carve out — you have to remember that a ceasefire is not something that happens magically. It is a process that is negotiated by different parties that have interests. And so, I do hope that Jake continues to be an honest broker in this conflict.”

Phillip then asked, “Are you suggesting that when he says there's something on the table, a ceasefire that Israel has agreed to, they want those hostages back, Hamas will not agree to that, you don't think that that's where things — you don't believe that that is where things stand today in these negotiations?”

Omar answered, “Well, there was current AP reporting that said negotiators from Hamas arrived in Egypt to negotiate for a ceasefire, and Israel decided not to send anyone down there to negotiate. You can certainly have certain demands that you want, and we obviously want the hostages released, returned to their families, there are American hostages that are included, there is an infant that is included in those hostages. And so, it is important that we do everything that we can, but we can't be dishonest to the point where we are saying that everybody is doing everything that they can to be at the table to negotiate a ceasefire that can lead to a permanent solution.”

Phillip followed up, “So, again, to clarify, Congresswoman, you're saying Jake Sullivan is being dishonest when he says Israel is at the table, willing to sign a ceasefire?”

Omar responded, “I'm saying he's not sharing the full picture. I don't know if he's being honest or not, but it certainly does not go along with the current reporting that has come out of those negotiation efforts.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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