Taliban Says They’re Open to Relations with US But Not Israel

A spokesperson for the Taliban said on September 7 that they’re open to establishing relations with all countries, including the United States, but not Israel.

The Times of Israel reported that the spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen told Sputnik News, “In a new chapter if America wants to have a relation with us, which could be in the interest of both countries and both peoples, and if they want to participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, they are welcome.”

He added: “Of course, we won’t have any relation with Israel. We want to have relations with other countries, Israel is not among these countries.”

Various Jewish and Israeli Twitter users weighed in.

“I’m sure #Israel is just heartbroken not to have diplomatic relations with the Taliban,” Club Z tweeted.

I’m sure #Israel is just heartbroken not to have diplomatic relations with the Taliban 😂 pic.twitter.com/BQLIK80tJ7

— Club Z (@ClubZTeens) September 7, 2021

“Israel should be honored that the Taliban doesn’t want to establish relations with the Jewish state,” Mark Dubowitz, CEO of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, tweeted. “Any country that does establish relations with this murderous terror group should be ashamed.”

Israel should be honored that the Taliban doesn’t want to establish relations with the Jewish state.

Any country that does establish relations with this murderous terror group should be ashamed. https://t.co/gcJoeWFHuK

— Mark Dubowitz (@mdubowitz) September 8, 2021

Attorney David Lurie noted in a tweet that “the Taliban, whose government is led by allies of Al Qaeda, does desire a close relationship with the government of China, which is embarked [in] a massive genocide of Muslims living adjacent to the Afghan border.”

The Taliban, whose government is led by allies of Al Qaeda, does desire a close relationship with the government of China, which is embarked an a massive genocide of Muslims living adjacent to the Afghan border. https://t.co/bDuKGR1hDb

— davidrlurie (@davidrlurie) September 8, 2021

Author David Hazony tweeted, “A really easy red flag for deep anti-Semitism is anyone who would rather deal with their sworn enemies than with Jews.”

Pro-tip: A really easy red flag for deep anti-Semitism is anyone who would rather deal with their sworn enemies than with Jews. https://t.co/KzvpUBZxQ7

— David Hazony (@davidhazony) September 7, 2021

Former Miss Iraq Sarah Idan argued in a tweet that the U.S. “will ALWAYS be ‘Big Satan’ and Israel ‘Little Satan’ to radical Islamists. This ceasefire is so they can grow bigger and stronger then guess who will they attack first when they’re powerful?”

https://twitter.com/RealSarahIdan/status/1435330496674754560?s=20

The Times of Israel noted that Shaheen conducted an interview with a journalist from the Israeli public broadcasting network Kan in August, although Shaheen claimed that he had no idea he was speaking to an Israeli.

The Taliban has taken over the Afghan government since the Biden administration withdrew U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A spokesperson for the State Department said they were perturbed that the Taliban government “consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the Taliban or their close associates and no women” and that the Taliban needs to “ensure that Afghan soil is not used to threaten any other countries and allow humanitarian access in support of the Afghan people.”