Donald Trump accused Joe Biden on Thursday of “taking the side” of Hamas and described as “shameful” the American president’s threats to stop delivering certain weapons to Israel in the event of a major offensive in Rafah, in the south of the Strip. Gaza.
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“What Biden is doing about Israel is a disgrace,” the Republican presidential candidate in November told the media, before rushing into the courtroom of the New York court where he is being tried for concealing a payment to an ex-porn star. “He totally abandoned Israel.”
“The idea that we are abandoning this role (of supporting Israel) and that we are not ready to help them defeat Hamas is simply not borne out by the facts,” he said. for his part a White House spokesperson, John Kirby, a few hours after Donald Trump’s declaration.
The Democratic president warned on Wednesday that he “would not deliver” certain weapons to Israel, of which the United States is the primary military supporter, in particular “artillery shells”, in the event of major operations against Rafah.
“We are not distancing ourselves from Israel’s security, we are distancing ourselves from Israel’s ability to wage war in these areas,” he also declared, specifying that the United States would, for example, continue to support Israel’s air defense shield, the Iron Dome.
This is the first time that President Biden has publicly placed conditions on American military aid provided to Israel, which is waging a war against Hamas in Gaza, in retaliation for the attack perpetrated on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil.
“Peace through strength”
“Joe-la-Rapule takes the side of these terrorists” of Hamas, also said Donald Trump in his Truth social network, assuring that once he returned to power, he would “demand peace through force”.
The Republican must face his Democratic rival in the presidential election on November 5.
Joe Biden “cannot claim that his support for Israel is “unshakeable” while denying it the weapons it precisely needs to defend itself,” said in X the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, judging that the president gave in to pressure from “the radicals of his left wing”.
“Sustainably defeating Hamas remains Israel’s objective and we share this objective,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the American National Security Council, attached to the White House.
“Entering Rafah in force will not achieve this objective,” he said.
On the ground, an AFP team reported on Thursday numerous artillery fire in Rafah, at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million Palestinians, the majority displaced by the war, are crowded together. and where the UN says it fears a “bloodbath”.
John Kirby added that, on the other hand, the United States could help Israel “target the leaders” of the Palestinian Islamist group, including its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinouar, alleged mastermind of the October 7 attack.
Under the presidency of Donald Trump, the United States turned its back on a two-state solution by unilaterally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The American embassy had been moved to the Holy City, causing a global outcry.
At the beginning of April, the real estate magnate, however, estimated that Israel was “losing the communications war” in Gaza, evoking the “terrible images” of “bombs dropped on buildings” in the Palestinian territory.
