Haley Campaign Press Release - National Review: Flashback: Haley Warned of Hamas Border Breach in 2018 U.N. Speech

By: Zach Kessel
Online here

In a May 2018 speech to the United Nations Security Council, then-United States ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley called attention to the likelihood that Hamas terrorists would breach the Israel-Gaza border fence and overrun towns in Southern Israel, as they did on Saturday.

Referencing reports coming out of Israel at the time, Haley said "Hamas maps and social media show the fastest routes to reach Israeli communities in case demonstrators make it through the security fence."

Israeli news organizations had documented messages broadcast "over loudspeakers that urge demonstrators to burst through the fence . . . the same loudspeakers are used by Hamas to urge the crowds to 'Get closer! Get closer' to the security fence," Haley noted.

"More than five years ago, Nikki gave a speech that could be given right now," a Haley campaign spokesperson said.

Given the speed with which Hamas terrorists entered Israeli border towns after breaching the barrier early Saturday, it seems they were indeed well aware of the "fastest routes" on which to travel, blitzing villages before their residents could understand what was happening.

In the speech, Haley also called out U.N. member states for urging Israel to act with restraint whenever the Jewish State moves to defend itself, arguing that no country would show the same level of restraint that Israel has shown historically if subjected to the same level of threat.

"No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," Haley said. "In fact, the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained."

Once again, as Israel begins its response to the worst attack it has suffered since the 1973 Yom Kippur War — and the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust — calls for restraint have flooded in.

The governments of Egypt, Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have all done so, as has the U.N. secretary general's office and Pope Francis.

Those sentiments have also appeared within the United States.

President Joe Biden alluded to such rhetoric in a conversation with Jewish community leaders Wednesday afternoon. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), who recently argued that "Christian fundamentalism" is largely to blame for the violence, and many of her fellow progressive lawmakers have called on Israel to "de-escalate." Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) released a statement Wednesday saying the U.S. must "insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking Gaza." While Sanders said the U.S.'s support for Israel is correct, he offered criticisms as well.

"Israel's blanked denial of food, water, and other necessities to Gaza is a serious violation of international law and will do nothing but harm innocent civilians," Sanders added.

Haley, by contrast, has been unequivocal in her support for Israel since the attack by Hamas on Saturday, telling Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu "finish them" when asked during an interview how Israel should respond to the attack.

The former South Carolina governor's foreign-policy credentials and hawkish stance have drawn notice in recent days among GOP primary watchers.

On Monday, Haley called on the Biden administration to re-freeze the $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue they had moved to release weeks ago in exchange for the release of five American hostages. Instead, Haley argued, the money should go to Israel to aid in its defense.

The Biden administration told House Democrats on Thursday that it would re-freeze the funds, the New York Times reported.