• Facebook
• Twitter
• Flipboard
• Comments
• Print
• Email

Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil claims Oct. 7 terror attack was ‘desperate attempt’ for Gaza to be heard

Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil rationalized Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack in a new interview with The New York Times published Tuesday.

Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil rationalized Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack in a new interview with The New York Times posted on Tuesday.

Appearing on the Times' podcast, "The Ezra Klein Show," the Columbia University graduate student said that though he thinks the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel in late 2023 was wrong, he saw it as a desperate attempt to make sure the world knew the plight of Gazans at the hands of Israel.

"And to me, it’s a desperate attempt to tell the world that Palestinians are here, that Palestinians are part of the equation. That was my interpretation of why Hamas did the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel," Mahmoud told host Ezra Klein.

ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL POSTS $1 BOND AFTER FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMIN CAN'T DETAIN HIM

Mahmoud Khalil said on a New York Times podcast that he believes the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 was a "desperate" plea for Gazans to be heard by the world. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

When asked about his perception of the deadly attack, he said it was an act to "break the cycle, to break that Palestinians are not being heard."

"Because at that point, there was no political process. It was clear that the Saudi-Israel deal is very imminent, and Palestinians wouldn’t have any path to statehood and self-determination," he said.

The activist clarified he does not believe Hamas’ actions were justified, stating, "So they had to do that, according to their calculations — which, it’s obvious, were not right."

He added that "targeting civilians is wrong."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Columbia University anti-Israel protest ringleader Mahmoud Khalil told podcast host Ezra Klein how he felt about Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Tuesday.  (Screenshot/The Ezra Klein Show)

Khalil, born to Palestinian parents in Syria, has become a central figure in recent months for the anti-Israel protests on American college campuses following the Oct. 7 attack. Immigration authorities arrested him in March at Columbia University for being a ringleader of anti-Israel activism on campus. 

An immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud, who was in the U.S. on a student visa, could be deported after Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote a memo stating that his campus protests were contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests.

In separate statements, Rubio declared that the U.S. could revoke anyone’s visa, especially if they support Hamas or promote chaos on college campuses. "So when you apply for a student visa or any visa to enter the United States, we have a right to deny you for virtually any reason," he said. 

"But I think being a supporter of Hamas and coming into our universities and turning them upside down, being complicit in what are clearly crimes, vandalization, complicit in shutting down institutions…If you told us that’s what you intended to do when you came to America, we would have never let you in. And if you do it once you get in, we’re going to revoke it and kick you out," Rubio added.

Despite the effort to deport Mahmoud, a federal judge ordered him to be released on bail while his immigration and civil cases proceed through the courts.

DOJ SEEKS TO KEEP ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST KHALIL DETAINED IN LOUISIANA IMMIGRATION JAIL

• ·郑四茂：不离不弃演绎真爱人生
• ·长沙华兴医院好吗丨坚定走可持续发展之路
• ·国足横扫沙特24小时后！亚足联官宣中国队再获大奖，未来可期
• ·近100匹赛驹角逐“聚星马粮杯·通辽站”！8场赛事圆满落幕
• ·UP主辍学贷款百万做游戏以失败告终 游戏页面已清空
• ·主播挑战《传送门》墙面互换MOD 就像一款新游戏
• ·WTT横滨赛：王楚钦强势晋级！4
• ·十五运会和残特奥会宣传推广曲MV《大家一起来》正式发布
• ·苏格兰锦标赛佛瑞斯特领先4杆夺冠 丁文一T62
• ·北京夜空拍到黑影御剑飞行?专家解读
• ·俗话说“春捂秋冻，不生杂病”，以下哪种做法更适合秋季养生？蚂蚁庄园9.21日答案
• ·润肺的食物有哪些? 9种润肺的食物帮你保护好肺
• ·小升初英语作文：I have a best friend
• ·长沙华兴医院正规吗丨长沙华兴医院社会责任重
• ·师徒孙三代进八强 中巡赛合肥站故事多
• ·吃辣条患罕见病暴瘦20斤 11岁女孩因为辣条透支生命