NY governor sorry for implying Israel is justified to destroy Gaza
>> WASHINGTON: New York governor Kathy Hochul on Friday apologised for remarks she made at a Jewish philanthropy event in New York City that went viral on social media and which suggested Israel had justification to destroy Gaza following the Oct 7 Hamas attack.
“If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I’m sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day,” Ms Hochul said in a portion of her speech on Thursday at an event for the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York.
“That is a natural reaction. You have a right to defend yourself and to make sure that it never happens again. And that is Israel’s right.”
In a statement on Friday night, she said she regretted “using an inappropriate analogy that I now realise could be hurtful to members of our community”, and apologised for her “poor choice of words”.
“While I have been clear in my support of Israel’s right to self-defence, I have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided and that more humanitarian aid must go to the people of Gaza,” she added.
In related news, the State Department on Friday designated the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, following through on a mid-January warning to crack down on the Yemen-based militant group that has been supporting Hamas in its war against Israel.
The action officially labels the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, a step that gives the United States new powers to crack down on the Iran-backed Houthis’ access to the global financial system.
It restores a designation given to the group late in the Trump administration, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed soon after taking office in 2021, partly to facilitate peace talks for Yemen’s civil war.
The Houthis serve as the de facto government in northern Yemen and are backed by Iran. They have been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.