Updated
Updated · Algemeiner · Jul 15
Ro Khanna Rejects Hamas Oct. 7 as Legitimate Resistance After 1,200 Killed
Updated
Updated · Algemeiner · Jul 15

Ro Khanna Rejects Hamas Oct. 7 as Legitimate Resistance After 1,200 Killed

3 articles · Updated · Algemeiner · Jul 15

Summary

  • Ro Khanna drew backlash from the political left after telling Drop Site News he would not call Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 assault legitimate resistance, instead labeling it a terrorist attack.
  • Repeated questioning from Drop Site co-founder Jeremy Scahill centered on whether Palestinians had a right to kill Israeli soldiers; Khanna answered that Hamas had no right to attack soldiers or civilians and said violence would not advance peace.
  • The attack killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, while Hamas also overran civilian communities and a music festival and fired rockets at Israeli population centers.
  • Khanna still accused Israel of genocide and has become one of Democrats’ sharpest critics of the country, leaving the episode to highlight widening party tensions between pro-Israel voters and progressive activists.

Insights

How does labeling an act 'terrorism' versus 'resistance' shape international responses to political violence?
Why condemn a situation as 'genocide' but reject a full arms embargo on the nation accused?
If international law deems an occupation illegal, does it permit armed resistance against the occupier's military forces?