On the heals of Secretary of State Kerry labeling Israel an “apartheid” state, Hamas doubles down on its terrorist mantra.

America’s top diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, recently said that if Israel does not cave to extremist demands in the Middle East, it would be an “apartheid” state.  The revealing comments came in a closed-door meeting when he thought the American people weren’t listening.

The insensitivity of that remark is astounding, but it shows an abject hostility toward Israel, a blatant misrepresentation of the facts, and a willful ignorance of the Middle East.

In the days since, Secretary Kerry has attempted to walk these statements back, saying that “if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief . . . .”

What other denigrating word would he have chosen?

Israel is a thriving democracy.  It protects the rights of its people, all of its people regardless of race or religion.  For years it has bent over backwards to make peace possible, while never once yielding the security of its citizenry nor threatening to wage an unprovoked attack against others.

Yet Secretary Kerry has the audacity to throw accusations at our ally Israel, and even worse, President Obama never once said a word about it.

At the same time, Hamas, an official State Department recognized terrorist organization, is poised to join in a unity government with the Palestinian Authority.

For years, Hamas terrorists have launched thousands of rockets into Israel, intentionally targeting women and children while cowardly using Palestinian children as cover.

As CBN News reports, a week after this unity deal was inked, senior Hamas leaders made it clear what their purpose would be.  Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, stated: “Our path is resistance and the rifle and our choice is jihad . . . . There is no past or future without jihad and resistance. Jihad is our path.”

Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar reiterated, “The reconciliation deal will not change Hamas at all and will not bring the organization to recognize Israel’s right to exist.”

It used to be axiomatic in American foreign policy that we would never negotiate with terrorists nor urge any ally to do such, but for this Administration all that seems to have changed.

Our government is not just blindly standing by leaving Israel to handle this new terrorist threat on its own. The Obama Administration is showing active hostility toward Israel, pressuring our ally into a deal with a soon-to-be terrorist-led Palestinian authority.

At the ACLJ, we’re committed to defending Israel.  Today, our tax dollars help fund the Palestinian Authority.  We cannot abandon our ally Israel.  We cannot allow the Obama Administration to violate U.S. law by funding terrorists.  Stand with Israel and sign our Petition to Defend Israel and Defund Terrorists.

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Matthew Clark is Associate Counsel for Government Affairs and Media Advocacy with the ACLJ. A lifelong citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, he lives with his wife and three boys in Northern Virginia. Follow Matthew Clark: @_MatthewClark.