U.S. State Department Spokesperson: America Sees No Role for Hamas in the Future

Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, firmly rejected any role for Hamas in the future of the Palestinians. In a press conference on Tuesday, April 7, he responded to whether the U.S. sees a role for Hamas in the future by saying, "Absolutely not." According to this report, Miller argued that "Hamas is a ruthless terrorist group that had been carrying out terrorist attacks even before the horrific attack on October 7." He stated, "They have no right to political participation because their hands are stained with blood." On the other hand, the U.S. State Department spokesperson also dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that the failure to veto a draft resolution at the UN Security Council led to the halt of negotiations for the release of hostages. Miller noted that Hamas's negative response to the last approved proposals from Israel was prepared prior to the Security Council voting session. Additionally, Netanyahu had also acted on his warning before the vote and canceled a delegation's trip to Washington to hear U.S. opinions on the ground military operation in Rafah, conditional on the U.S. vetoing the draft. Nevertheless, the U.S. State Department spokesperson considered Netanyahu's criticisms and reactions as a "minor disagreement" and stated that it would not affect the Biden administration's decisions, even regarding providing more weapons. Following Hamas's terrorist attack on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the hostage-taking of over 250 others, Israel launched an offensive against Gaza aimed at destroying this Islamist group supported by the Islamic Republic. This offensive has led to the displacement of the majority of the 2.3 million population of Gaza, who are in urgent need of food and other essentials. Despite the devastating consequences of Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel, officials from this Islamist group have repeatedly emphasized that they will carry out similar attacks again if able. Hamas, without mentioning the number of its members killed as a result of Israel's offensive in Gaza, claims that nearly 32,000 Palestinians living in Gaza have been killed and about 73,000 others injured. The Persian section of Voice of America cannot independently verify or confirm the figures provided by Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly emphasized that Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization.