White House scrambles to distance itself from Islamic group after leader's praise for Hamas attack

The White House is trying to distance itself from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after its leader appeared to say that he was concerned about seeing Palestinians in Gaza "breaking the siege" during Hamas' deadly October 7 terrorist attack. He was "happy". Against Israel.

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad is seen making the comments in a video going viral on social media.

"The people of Gaza only decided to break down the walls of the siege, the torture camp, on October 7," Awad says in the video, which quickly went viral on social media. “And yes, I am happy to see people breaking the siege and breaking the shackles of their land and moving freely on their lands where they were not allowed to go.”

"And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, the right to defend themselves," he said. “And yes, Israel, as an occupying power, does not have the right to self-defense.”

After being contacted regarding the comments, a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that they were removing the group from its publicly listed pledge to fight anti-Semitism.