MK Ofer Cassif refused to condemn Hamas on Channel 12's "Meet the Press," instead drawing a comparison between the murderous terror group and the IDF.
Cassif initially avoided answering the question of whether he considers Hamas a terrorist organization, telling the interviewers, "I'm not under interrogation."
When interviewers Ben Caspit and Amit Segal pressed him, Cassif responded: "Let's first of all agree on the definition of terrorism. You, Amit Segal, and many others say that we support terrorism. As someone who consistently opposes violence, especially harm to innocent civilians, you say that we still support terrorism."
Caspit challenged, "Ofer, you're getting philosophical. Hamas carried out the October 7 massacre. Can you imagine an elected US senator who supports Al-Qaeda?"
"None of us are Hamas supporters," Cassif insisted.
Segal pressed: "Is Hamas a terrorist organization? There are 20 statements of yours saying that the IDF carries out acts of terrorism. I'm asking whether Hamas is a terrorist organization."
Cassif responded by comparing the IDF to Hamas.
"I said that the Israeli military carries out acts of terrorism; thus I did not say it is a terrorist organization, because it does not only carry out acts of terrorism, but other [actions] as well," he said. "The same goes for Hamas."
Asked whether he considers himself a Zionist, Cassif replied: “Not only am I not a Zionist, I define myself as anti-Zionist."