U.S. Pans Netanyahu Speech

The State Department remains unpersuaded of the accuracy of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s equation of Hamas and ISIL in his speech at the U.N. on Monday.

Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed reservations about Netanyahu’s description of IS and Hamas as “poison branches from the same tree.” She said, “Both Hamas and ISIL are designated as terrorist organizations but obviously ISIL poses a different threat to western countries and the U.S. than Hamas, and that’s just a fact.”

“I don’t believe that Netanyahu or anybody else from Israel is suggesting that the U.S. launch a military campaign against Hamas,” Psaki added, to underscore the differences.

When asked if she agreed that Hamas, IS, Iran, Hizbullah, and other terrorist Islamic organizations were all in league to take control of the world, as Netanyahu had indicated in his speech. She said, “I don’t agree with that characterization. No.”

Regarding the prime minister’s reiterated warning not to be deceived by Iran’s “manipulative charm offensive,” Psaki insisted that no such warnings were necessary.

“I can assure anyone that an agreement reached would not be based on a charm offensive or how that impacts us, but on the facts and the details,” she said.

This article appeared in print on page 28 of the October 1st, 2014 edition of Hamodia.