Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor emeritus, told Newsmax that it was a shame former President Barack Obama did not condemn the Hamas attacks on Israel sooner.
Joining "The Record with Greta Van Susteren" on Monday, Dershowitz described Obama's response to the nearly 1,000 estimated Israelis killed in the conflict as "three days late. A little too little, a little too late."
Obama posted on X shortly before Dershowitz's appearance that he supported Israel's right to self-defense and called for all parties to strive "for a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike."
"But thank you, President Obama," he said sarcastically. "You told me when you wanted to be reelected president – you called me to the Oval Office, and you said, 'I will always have Israel's back.' I didn't realize you meant to put a target on.
"Before he [Obama] left office, he signed the Iran Deal, which is partly responsible for all this. Iran has paid for this. ... It will never end unless Iran is punched. They're the ones who are pulling these strings."
Dershowitz is referring to a report from The Wall Street Journal that cited top officials in Hamas and Hezbollah, two anti-Israel terrorist organizations, who claimed Iran funded, plotted, and approved the incursion.
The legal expert also slammed the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds held at a South Korean bank in exchange for United States nationals Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi, and Morad Tahbaz.
Two other unnamed U.S. nationals were also released.
The $6 billion "will be used by Iran to pay for more terrorist activities of this kind," Dershowitz explained. "Money is fungible. Iran has plenty of money to pay for their medical and food supplies. And so, this idea that the $6 billion will only go for humanitarian purposes is a lot of nonsense.
Earlier in the interview, Dershowitz reacted to a statement by over 30 different Harvard student groups blaming Israel for the attacks due to its supposedly "apartheid regime."
"For years, Harvard has been propagandized by anti-Israel, antisemitic, anti-Zionist professors, administrators, speakers," said Dershowitz, who taught there for nearly 50 years.
His comments arrive hours after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that his country's military will launch a decisive siege on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
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Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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