The Gaza Islamist militant-group Hamas praised the Taliban for their "defeat" of the United States in Afghanistan. On Monday, the group released a statement mentioning that "the demise of the American occupation" is in Afghanistan is proof that Hamas' "struggling Palestinian people will achieve victory."
In April, President Joe Biden announced that American troops would make a full exit of Afghanistan by Sept. 11. But over the weekend, word of the last American departure spread quickly, leading to a swift overthrow of the Afghan government in Kabul. Panic-stricken citizens soon flooded the tarmac of Kabul's International Airport. Some even desperately clung to a plane in their last remaining hope to escape Taliban rule.
"We congratulate the Muslim Afghan people," Hamas's statement read, "for the defeat of the American occupation on all Afghan lands, and we congratulate the Taliban movement and its brave leadership on this victory, which culminated its long struggle over the past 20 years."
The statement translated by the Daily Caller continued, "while Hamas wishes the Afghan Muslim people and its leadership success in achieving unity, stability and prosperity for Afghanistan and its people, it stresses that the demise of the American occupation and its allies proves that the resistance of the peoples, foremost of which is our struggling Palestinian people, will achieve victory."
Since 1997, Hamas has been regarded by the United States as a terrorist organization.
And on Tuesday, in a White House press briefing, Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said it would be premature to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate governing power "right now " in Afghanistan, adding that the decision would ultimately be up to the Taliban.
"Right now, there is a chaotic situation in Kabul where we don't even have the establishment of a governing authority," Sullivan said. "So it would be really premature to address that question."
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Ultimately, it's going to be up to the Taliban to show the rest of the world who they are and how they intend to proceed. The track record has not been good, but it's premature to address that question at this point."
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