Former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, on Monday urged President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to treat Hamas like a terrorist organization instead of pressuring Israel to agree to a hostage release deal.
“Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen, was executed in Gaza. Seven Americans are still being held hostage by the same terrorists who murdered Hersh,” Haley wrote in a post on social media site X.
“It’s unacceptable. America should demand Hamas and their funders, Iran, release the hostages immediately. Harris and Biden need to acknowledge Hamas is a terrorist organization and treat them like it, rather than pressuring Israel,” she added.
In an earlier post, Haley called on Biden and Harris to sanction Iran over its support for terrorist organizations like Hamas.
Haley shared a video of Goldberg-Polin’s mother, Rachel, from his funeral and wrote, “How many more of these funerals have to happen before Kamala Harris and Joe Biden start playing hardball and put the sanctions back on Iran? Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, none of these terror groups take this administration seriously. Cut off their money so the horror stops.”
Her posts came after Biden stated that he does not think Netanyahu has done enough to secure a hostage deal, telling a reporter "no" when asked a question on that issue.
Later, the White House said in a statement following a meeting between Biden and Harris with the US hostage deal negotiation team that "President Biden expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder of the six hostages and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable.”
Biden has been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that he first laid out in May, but Hamas has continuously rejected every proposal that has been presented to it.
On Saturday night, he commented to reporters on the efforts to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal, saying, "It's time this war ended…I think we're on the verge of having an agreement."
He said he was "still optimistic" about the prospects of an agreement and added that "people are continuing to meet."
"We think we can close the deal, they've all said they agree on the principles," said Biden.
Last Sunday, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters that talks over a possible ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release deal ended without agreement in Cairo.