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Secretary of State Nominee Rubio Defends Israel's Conduct in Gaza War, Slams ICC
(Ha'aretz) Ben Samuels - Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), nominated to be U.S. Secretary of State, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday that Hamas "deliberately targeted civilians." "The ones they didn't murder, the families they didn't eviscerate, the people whose skulls they didn't crack open, they kidnapped and to this day continue to hold innocents they took in a deliberate operation." "Israel in responding to that had to go after Hamas. How can any nation-state on the planet co-exist with a group of savages like Hamas? They have to defend their national security and national interest." "There's a difference between those who deliberately target civilians and those who do what they can to avoid civilians being caught up against an enemy who doesn't wear a uniform, hides in tunnels, hides behind women and children and using them as human shields. There is no moral equivalency." He also said the International Criminal Court (ICC) targeting of Israel "is very dangerous for the United States. This is a test run to see if we can go after a head of state of a nation that's not a member. If we can get Israel, they will apply that to the United States at some point. The moral equivalency of [the prosecution of Israel] was offensive. Hamas carried out an atrocious operation, sending a bunch of savages into Israel with the explicit purpose of targeting civilians. They knew there were no soldiers at the music festival, they knew there were teens and young families in the communities."