Walz urges hostage deal; says ‘we can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza’; Michigan protests ‘for right reasons’

Democratic US vice presidential nominee Tim Walz reiterates that Israel has the right to defend itself in the wake of October 7, calling for a hostage-ceasefire deal followed by a move toward a two-state solution.

In an interview with Michigan outlet WCMU, Walz also says that people in that state are speaking out about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip “for all the right reasons,” adding that the situation cannot continue.

“Well, I think first and foremost what we saw on October 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They have certainly, and the vice president said it, I’ve said it, have the right to defend themselves and the United States will always stand by that,” the Minnesota governor says.

“But we can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves. We need to continue, I think to put the leverage on to make sure we move towards a two-state solution,” Walz says. “I think we’re at a critical point right now. We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction.”

Walz says that people in Michigan are speaking out “for all the right reasons. It’s a humanitarian crisis. It can’t stand the way it is.”

“We need to find a way that people can live together in this and we’ve said it and continue to say it, getting a ceasefire with the return of the hostages and then moving towards a sustainable two-state solution is the only way forward,” Walz says.

The 100,000-strong Arab-American community in Michigan is in the spotlight, due to concerns that voters who previously supported US President Joe Biden in 2020 will stay home for the November vote as a protest against the administration’s support for Israel in its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.