Obama says people need to acknowledge the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to move forward

CNN
—

Former President Barack Obama said the way forward in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be possible if people acknowledge the “complexity” of the situation.

“If there is any chance that we can act constructively to do something, it will require acknowledging the complexity and maintaining what on the surface may seem contradictory ideas that what Hamas did was horrific, and there is no justification for it,” Obama said in an interview on the show. “Pod Save America” podcast: “And… the occupation and what is happening to the Palestinians is unbearable.”

The former president’s statements come at a time when the Israeli army is focusing its attack against Hamas in Gaza City and the northern parts of the Strip.

Behind the scenes, American officials also believe that there is limited time for Israel to try to achieve its stated goal of eliminating Hamas in its current operation before the uproar over human suffering and civilian casualties reaches the point of no return.

Obama specifically criticized the dominant discourse on social media and TikTok activity around the issue.

“If you want to solve the problem, you have to accept the whole truth, and then you have to admit that no one’s hands are clean – and that we are all complicit to some extent,” he said.

Millions have Switched to platforms Like TikTok and Instagram in the hope of understanding the brutal conflict in real time, but Obama said he would rather see people “out there talking to people.”

“Including people you disagree with. If you really want to change this… you have to know how to talk to someone on the other side and listen to them and understand what they’re talking about and not ignore it,” Obama said.