(UnitedHeadlines.com) – After being interrupted by a heckler demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, President Joe Biden stated that “we need a pause” in the war during a Nov. 3 fundraising event in Minnesota.
The audience member, who identified herself as a rabbi, interrupted Biden’s speech with calls for an immediate ceasefire. Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg was singing “ceasefire now” as she was escorted out of the fundraiser by security.
In response to Rosenberg, Biden stated that there should be a pause, which he added would be to “give time to get the prisoners out.” Biden said that he had talked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to call for a cease-fire to let the prisoners out” and that he had convinced Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “to open the door.” Sources later had to clarify that Biden was referring to the two American hostages, Judith and Natalie Raanan of Illinois, who were released in October as well as the humanitarian aid that entered through the Rafah border crossing.
Biden added that the situation for both Israel and “the Muslim world” is complicated. Biden said that while he “supported a two state solution” that “Hamas is a terrorist organization.”
More than 1,000 protesters with Palestinian flags and signs reading “Ceasefire now” and “Stop Bombing Children” were seen near the fundraiser.
The comment from Biden comes as White House national security spokesperson John Kirby continues to state that the United States feels that a ceasefire would only be beneficial to Hamas. Kirby has also stated that the United States supports a pause in the war in order to allow civilians to leave Gaza. Kirby added that the new ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, would be heading to the Middle East, tasked with helping to support “U.S. efforts to create the conditions for a humanitarian pause” as a way to address “the worsening humanitarian conditions facing” Palestinians.
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