Hillary 'wanted to rig 2006 Palestinian elections' against Hamas

In an audio recorded in 2006, the US presidential hopeful is heard regretting not plotting against victory by Hamas in Palestinian general elections

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

29 October, 2016

Clinton said the push for elections in the Palestinian territories was "a big mistake" [Getty]

Hillary Clinton suggested the 2006 Palestinian election should have been rigged, a recording released by The Observer on Wednesday revealed.

The Democrat's candidate and presidential hopeful is heard making the comment in a 2006 meeting with the editorial board of the Jewish Press during her campaign for reelection into senate.

She said the US' push for elections in the Palestinian territories was "a big mistake", after Islamist resistance group Hamas beat US-preferred Fatah in a resounding victory by 74 seats to 45.

"I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake. And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win," Clinton said.

The emergence of her comments was of timely significance as Clinton faces persistent accusations from her Republican opponent Donald Trump that current US presidential election is rigged.

The audio was never released and has only heard by a small number of staffers at the Jewish Press offices.

Clinton was "gracious, personable and pleasant throughout" the interview, Eli Chomsky, who released the audio to The Observer said.

The Democrat's candidate also made some remarks on dealing with state leaders from countries the US may be in disagreement with.

"You know, I'm pretty much of the mind that I don't see what it hurts to talk to people. As long as you're not stupid and giving things away," Clinton said.

"I mean, we talked to the Soviet Union for 40 years. They invaded Hungary, they invaded Czechoslovakia, they persecuted the Jews, they invaded Afghanistan, they destabilized governments, they put missiles 90 miles from our shores, we never stopped talking to them.

"But if you say, 'they're evil, we're good, [and] we're never dealing with them,' I think you give up a lot of the tools that you need to have in order to defeat them…So I would like to talk to you [the enemy] because I want to know more about you. Because if I want to defeat you, I've got to know something more about you. I need different tools to use in my campaign against you. That's my take on it."

Her comments from the 2006 audio suggested Clinton's willingness to engage in talks with Russia.