Kurt Volker, the former United States Permanent Representative to NATO, told Newsmax on Friday that a cease-fire in Gaza would "reward Hamas" and Iran.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the White House reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the defense of Israel from threats posed by Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, while also pushing for a de-escalation to the ongoing conflict.
Volker said on "Wake Up America," "I think that there is pressure for a cease-fire," noting that "people are looking at getting a solution" and "improving the humanitarian situation" in the region.
He added, "But the reality is that a cease-fire will actually reward Hamas, reward Iran. It will leave them in control of hostages, which they have successfully used for leverage."
Volker said that Netanyahu "is quite correctly understanding the situation around Israel right now and feeling that he has to act because no one else has his back."
The former ambassador later agreed that Biden should have congratulated Netanyahu for the airstrike that killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
"We have to be guided by seriousness of purpose here, and we have to recognize that there are terrorists out there," Volker said. "They are doing bad things. They have to be stopped."
He added that the Biden administration has "a policy of always seeking to de-escalate, always seeking to stand down. And that is in fact empowering the terrorists. It's empowering those very problems that we should be most concerned about."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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