Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR, said during a speech late last month that he was happy to see the people of Gaza “breaking the siege” on October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented terrorist attack against Israel.
The Middle East Media Research Institute reported on Thursday that Awad made the remarks while speaking at the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) convention in Chicago on November 24.
“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp, on October 7th,” he said. “And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk free into their land, that they were not allowed to walk in. And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves, and yes, Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense.”
He later said that “Gaza became the liberation source, the inspiration for people” and that…