US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday called for the eradication of Hamas and said that there will not be peace in the Middle East if Hamas continues to rule Gaza.
Speaking in an interview with SiriusXM radio ahead of his trip to the Middle East, which will include a stop in Israel at the end of the week, Rubio noted that Hamas not only holds hostages under inhuman conditions, it also humiliates them publicly when they are released.
“You look at these images of what they – first of all, the humiliation that they have to go through. Just put aside for a moment the horrifying conditions they were kept and the horrifying things that happened to some of those hostages, on top of the fact that these were innocent civilians…These are just people that were abducted for purposes of being used as leverage. And they’re getting, what, 200 certified killers in exchange for one innocent hostage. But it reveals who Hamas is,” the Secretary of State said.
“Look at this humiliation they put them through before they’re released, where they do these big public displays of force. Do any of those Hamas fighters look like they’ve been skipping meals? Do any of those Hamas fighters that you see look like they’ve been suffering over the last year and a half? Clearly, these people are – the ones suffering are the people from Gaza, but not them. And then the conditions they’re held in. So, it’s incredibly revealing about what we’re dealing with.”
“Hamas,” Rubio said, “is evil. It’s pure evil. These are monsters. These are savages. That’s a group that needs to be eradicated.”
“And let me tell you, if they still are the dominant power in Gaza when all this is done, there is not going to peace in the Middle East, as long as a group like Hamas physically controls territory and is the most dominant power in Gaza or anywhere in the Middle East,” he continued. “And I hope people can see who these people actually are, in the condition of these hostages – not just the conditions that they’re in when they’re released, but what they have to endure on the way out.”
Asked whether the two-state solution is still a policy of the US, Rubio replied, “Well, the big challenge for this whole two-state solution has not been Israel. It’s been: Who’s going to govern that second state? Who’s going to be in charge of it? If the people in charge of it are Hamas or Hezbollah or anybody like that, whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state.”
“So, I don’t know how you’re going to have peace if you’re turning over territory to a group whose stated purpose is the destruction of the Jewish state,” he continued. “Why would any country in the world agree to create a second state on their border that is governed by armed elements who kidnap babies and murder babies and rape teenage girls and abduct innocents and whose stated goal and purpose for existing is the – is your destruction? Who would agree to that? So that’s the fundamental challenge.”
On President Trump’s plan for Gaza, Rubio said, “Gaza is a place that, in addition to all the damage it suffered in the war – Hamas hides in the tunnels. It’s the civilians who they hide behind and underneath that have suffered the consequences of this. But that’s a place where there’s all kinds of unexploded munitions and bombs that Hamas has, that’s been used in the conflict. Someone’s got to go in – for anybody to be able to live there, someone’s got to – you’ve got to clean it up. You’ve got to clean all that out of there even before you begin the process of removing rubble and debris and rebuilding housing, like permanent structures. Who’s going to do that?”
“And right now, the only one who’s stood up and said I’m willing to help do it is Donald Trump. All these other leaders, they’re going to have to step up. If they’ve got a better idea, then now is the time. Now is the time for the other governments and other powers in the region, some of these very rich countries, to basically say, okay, we’ll do i. We’re going to pay for this; we’re going to step forward; we’re going to be the ones that take charge. None of them is offering to do it. And I think that you can’t go around claiming that you’re a fighter for, an advocate for the Palestinian people, but you’re not willing to do anything to help rebuild Gaza,” continued the Secretary of State.
“So that’s a challenge that President Trump’s put out there. And it’s outside the box, but that’s what he always is. I mean, he is going to state the obvious. It’s the one thing about Donald Trump – he doesn’t hide behind silly, traditional lies and things of that nature. He’s going to put out blunt truth. And the blunt truth is that the Middle East has, for too long, been a region of places all of whom love to talk but don’t want to do. So, it’s time – if they don’t like Donald Trump’s plan, then it’s time for these countries in the region to step forward and offer their solution,” said Rubio.