Ex-Israeli ambassador slams State Department report comparing Hamas attacks to IDF conduct in war

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren slammed a recent State Department report that compared Hamas terrorist attacks to Israeli Defense Forces' actions taken during the war in Gaza.

"It is deeply disturbing and confusing, because on one hand, the administration has gone out of its way to veto an effort in the Security Council to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state," Oren said on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast. "The administration has been absolutely instrumental in defending Israel two weeks ago in this attack by 350 Iranian projectiles."

On Monday, the State Department released a report that accused Israel of not protecting civilians amid the war. 

"Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel on October 7th last year, and the devastating loss of civilian life in Gaza as Israel exercises its right to ensure that those attacks never happen again, have also raised deeply troubling human rights concerns," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a press conference. 

Oren said that remarks in the report send mixed messages since the U.S. has also made massive efforts to support Israel. 

Recently, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked during a hearing whether he believed there was a genocide in Gaza to which he responded, “We don’t have any evidence of genocide."

"On the other hand, you get remarks like this which undercut our legitimacy," Oren said in reference to the State Department report. "It gives tremendous tailwind to people who are, for example, taking over campuses and trying to condemn us for war crimes and get our soldiers criminalized around the world. So it is confusing and distressing. And I think it sends a message to other American allies around the world: Beware."