Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz denounced Hamas for the slaying of three hitchhiking Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found buried in a shallow grave on Monday.
"While we lift Gilad Shaer, Naftali Frankel, and Eyal Yifrach and their loving families up in prayer, we must also act," Cruz said in a
statement released by his office.
"Hamas is, unequivocally, a terrorist organization with blood on its hands that must be condemned on the world stage. There should be no path forward for Hamas to have any role in any future government formed by the Palestinian Authority, and no nation should accommodate, legitimize, or negotiate with this group that engages in the killing of innocent civilians."
Cruz called on Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority to immediately renounce its unity government with Hamas and work to "expel Hamas from [Palestinian] civil society."
He said the United States "should stand unequivocally" with Israel as it "acts forcefully to protect its people."
Cruz, who may seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, is known as a strong supporter of Israel. He has criticized Abbas and other Palestinian leaders for refusing to acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state in the Middle East.
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