A Harvard professor has apologized for suggesting that the Hamas attack on Israel – described as the deadliest attack on Israel in years – was an attempt to draw attention to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘own corruption’ ‘ to deduce.
Harvard Emeritus Professor Laurence Tribe, who teaches constitutional law, posted the comment on X, formerly Twitter, just hours after a surprise Hamas attack on Israel early Saturday morning that saw militants open fire that killed dozens of civilians and soldiers nearby killed the Gaza Strip.
Tribe expressed regret at what it called a ‘poorly informed’ claim and quickly deleted the post, but those who saw it were furious, calling the professor an ‘idiot’ who needs to ‘commit himself somewhere’ .
Liberal political commentator Keith Olbermann also criticized Tribe’s claims, calling them “moronic and indefensible.” Fox News reported.
Pictured: Harvard Emeritus Professor Laurence Tribe, who teaches constitutional law, posted the comment on X, formerly Twitter, just hours after a surprise Hamas attack on Israel early Saturday
A fiery explosion on a Palestinian apartment building following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City following an attack in Israel by militant Hamas rulers
A crying child in her father’s arms stands in front of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City early Saturday morning
Reporter Julie Kelly was among those outraged by Tribe’s post, telling him to ‘go connect yourself somewhere’
Actor and conservative Matthew Marsden expressed his anger, telling Tribe: ‘What an evil person you are.’
In the since-deleted post, Stam asked: ‘Is Netanyahu wielding the war dog to draw attention to his own war against the independent judiciary?’
Can anyone put it past him?
The report also linked to the Washington Post coverage of the violent attack taking place in Israel.
The claim he made appears to be based on a conspiracy theory that Netanyahu is waging a war against Hamas militants to distract from his own corruption in government.
Tribe told Fox News Digital the reason for the post and later apologized.
“I sent the tweet in response to Netanyahu’s reported comments before I saw the news of what Hamas actually did, at which point I immediately deleted the tweet as a clearly premature, uninformed and inappropriate response to incomplete information.”
He added: ‘I of course condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks and unimaginable atrocities against the Israeli people, including the killing and kidnapping of civilians, in the strongest possible terms and fully support Israel’s right of self-defence, notwithstanding my longstanding condemnation of the Israeli occupation of Gaza and its activities in the West Bank.’
Thousands of rockets were launched and Hamas gunmen ambushed at least 22 areas outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and communities located about 15 miles from the Gaza border. Associated Press reported.
Many of the armed militants reportedly roamed the streets for hours, shooting innocent people dead. At least 100 people were killed and hundreds wounded. Some Israeli civilians and soldiers were captured and brought to Gaza, the Israeli National Rescue Service said.
Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the army, told the news paper that militants are also conducting hostage battles in two towns.
By Saturday afternoon, hours after the deadly attack, Netanyahu said: ‘What happened today will not be seen in Israel and I will make sure it does not happen again,’ he said.
“The IDF will immediately use its full force to destroy Hamas’ capabilities. We will avenge this black day.’
‘We will turn all the places in this evil city where Hamas hides into rubble. Residents of Gaza, get out of there now.’
An Israeli flag is burned in celebration by supporters of Hezbollah during the attacks
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his country ‘at war’ on Saturday
Netanhayu, has been a political leader in Israel for almost two decades. He has served as Prime Minister of the country since December 2022 and previously held the office from 1996 to 1999, and again from 2009 to 2021. He is the chairman of the Likud party,
On Saturday, he declared that his country was now “at war” with the Palestinian group Hamas after the extremist group carried out a deadly barrage of rocket attacks and sent militants into Israeli territories.
There has been a decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine. Netanyahu launched airstrikes in Gaza and vowed to inflict an ‘unprecedented price’.
Early Saturday, the prime minister spoke on X, formerly Twitter, about the attack and its execution.
‘Since this morning, the state of Israel has been at war. Our first objective is to clear out the hostile forces that have invaded our territory and restore security and peace to the communities that have been attacked.’
The prime minister added: ‘The second objective is at the same time to demand a tremendous price from the enemy, also within the Gaza Strip. The third objective is to strengthen other fronts so that no one should join this war by mistake.’
At least 40 people in Israel were killed in the horrific attack, Israeli officials said. As of 3:00 p.m. Saturday, the Israeli Ministry of Health reported that 908 people had been wounded and taken to Israeli hospitals, CNN reported.
In Gaza, nearly 200 were killed and more than 1,600 injured, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli 908 wounded people were taken to Israeli hospitals, the Israeli Ministry of Health said. Separately, at least 40 people were killed in Israel, officials said earlier.
In Gaza, nearly 200 were killed and more than 1,600 injured, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The deadly attack happened on Shabbat and only hours from the eve of Simchat Torah.
Earlier this week, Jews around the world celebrated Sukkot, celebrating the high holidays of Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur.
*This is a developing story