WH cuts ties to Muslim group

The Biden administration said Thursday it has ended its work with the Council on American-Islamic Relations on countering religious hate after one of CAIR’s leaders declared he was “happy” to witness Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on Oct 7.

CAIR co-founder and national executive director Nihad Awad made the shocking statement at the Convention for Palestine in Chicago on Nov. 24, according to video footage circulated by the pro-Israel Middle East Media Research Institute.

“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege — the walls of the concentration camp — on Oct. 7,” Awad said. “And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not allowed to walk in.

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

CAIR was tapped by the White House on May 25 to “launch a tour to educate religious communities about steps they can take to protect their houses of worship from hate incidents.”

It also included CAIR as one of many groups with which it had “announced commitments to counter antisemitism.”

But that affiliation ended after Awad’s remarks surfaced, the White House said.

“We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms,” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told The Post.

Awad later said, “I condemned violence against all civilians and all forms of bigotry.”