Haley Campaign Press Release - Haley: "We must have Israel's back when they hit back"

EXETER, N.H. — Today, presidential candidate Nikki Haley kicked off another swing through the Granite State, holding two town halls in Rochester and Exeter before sitting down with Sean Hannity. On Fox News, Haley warned that "we are supporting Israel now because they've been hit. But the more important part is we have to support them when they hit back."

On why we have to eliminate Hamas...

"Five years ago I gave a speech at the UN. That speech talked about the fact that I had worked with the Israelis and they had maps. And those maps were from Hamas. And Hamas basically had these maps that said if they were able to get past the barrier, these were the quickest, easiest ways to get into the Israeli communities to kill as many Jews as they could. And what I said then was, 'We have to make sure that we never let them get across that barrier.'

"Now I have actually been in Israel and seen the tunnels. I've been on the border of Lebanon and seen the 130,000 rockets looking back at Israel. I've been on the border of Gaza. I've been in Aida refugee camp. I've actually seen how the Palestinians live. I looked at the buildings and saw the graffiti that said, 'kill the Jews, hate the Jews.' I've worked with organizations that the UN funds, that I stopped US funding, that would actually have textbooks and they would have math problems like, 'If you have 5 Jews, and you kill 4 Jews how many Jews are left?' So when you hear of anything trying to give sympathy to what is happening in Gaza, don't listen to it because I've been there, I've been in those tunnels. Where do they put those tunnels? What do they put in those tunnels? They put equipment, they put ammunition, they hide hostages, and that's where they hide to try and do harm to Israel. And where are those tunnels? They put them under schools, under hospitals, because they know Israelis value life. And when you look at what happened the other day, how horrific it was when they were dragging bodies around the streets. What were they saying, 'death to Israel, death to America.' That's what we're dealing with. That's why we have to eliminate Hamas."

On standing with Israel when they hit back...

"We have to completely eliminate Hamas, but what I want the American people to remember is we've seen the images, and as horrific as they are, and as heartbreaking as all of this is; we aresaying right now, eliminate Hamas. I can tell you, because it happened all the time at the UN, when they start that ground game, when Israel starts to move in to eliminate Hamas further. You're going to have all these other countries and you're going to have Americans say 'you need to show constraint. You need to be able to pull back.' No, they need to eliminate Hamas.

"We are supporting Israel now because they've been hit. But the more important part is we have to support them when they hit back as well. Don't tell them to stop. They saw too much death. They saw too much destruction. And Hamas will do it again. We have to eliminate them, regardless of how they try to intimidate us. And we have to remember, the reason we have Israel's back is because it's not that Israel needs America, America needs Israel. They're the front line of defense to this Jihad terrorism. And that the next thing they want is America. And we should never be so arrogant to think that we don't need friends."

Rochester Town Hall

SCETV's Gavin Jackson: On the ground in New Hampshire where Republican presidential candidate @NikkiHaley is making a two-day swing, complete with town halls and cattle calls as well as filing for the First in the Nation primary.

Exeter Town Hall

Politico's Lisa Kashinsky: Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley says in an Exeter, N.H., town hall that Israelis "have the right to fight back" and that the U.S. has to have their back #nhpolitics @politico

USA Today Politics: "Expand the tent." Nikki Haley explains how not to lose popular vote during a USA TODAY town hall.

Boston Globe's Scot Lehigh: Nikki Haley draws a big crowd at Exeter Town Hall... #NewHampshire #FITN

USA Today: Haley voiced support for Israel's military offensive against Hamas, noting that , "while we have their back now that they've been hit, what's more important is that we have their back when they hit back." Haley a called Iran, "the backer of Hamas."