Israeli media is having a field day reporting on Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s comments that Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel’s presence in the West Bank and its policies toward Palestinians do not constitute terrorism, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in response to a high school student asking why international communities don’t consider Israel and the US terrorist groups, the Times of Israel, i24News, and JPost reported. “You can look at it as a rule of force, but there is no proven link between Israel and terrorist groups,” said Shoukry. The article describes the action as “an unusual display of public empathy from an Arab official.” Shoukry made a surprise visit to Israel last month. The Foreign Ministry has subsequently stated that foreign and local newspapers are deliberately misquoting Shoukry, adding that he was claiming that Israel’s actions can’t be said to be terrorist because there is no accepted international definition of terror or state terrorism, as a number of countries have conflicting views on the subject.

Hamas shot back, with their spokesperson Husam Badran subtweeting “Someone who doesn’t see in the crimes of the Zionist occupation terrorism is blind,” as noted by the Times of Israel.