Ben-Gvir accuses Biden of showing support for Hamas leader Sinwar over Israel
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security from the far-right, has pointed fingers at US President Biden, claiming that he supports figures deemed as “Israel’s enemies,” such as Hamas leaders and American politicians with strong pro-Palestine views.
According to The New York Times interview, the minister indicated a preference for Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, and Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American Democratic Congresswoman representing a Michigan district, over Israel, a longtime ally of the administration.
Following the US abstention from the recent UNSC vote urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Israel responded with frustration and disappointment.
“Presently, Biden prefers the line of Rashida Tlaib and Sinwar to the line of Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir,” Ben-Gvir said.
“I would have expected the president of the United States not to take their line but rather to take ours.”
Tlaib is vocal in her pro-Palestine stance and has even confronted Biden over his support for Israel in 2021. The Congresswoman was one of the many who protested for a ceasefire during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech.
Sinwar was elected as the new head of the bureau in 2017 and re-elected four years later and is believed to have “orchestrated” the Hamas 7 October attacks in Israel.
The Ben-Gvir also added that Biden has “constantly sought to impose restrictions on Israel and talks about the rights of the other side” that includes “terrorists who want to destroy us [Israel]”.
The minister had also critiqued the administration for its handling of the war on Gaza, saying presidential candidate Donald Trump would grant Israel more “freedom” to fight Hamas.
While the US has provided strong support to Israel throughout the war, by supplying arms and diplomatic backing, tensions have been rising between the two nations.
Washington on Tuesday denied claims by Israel that the UN Security Council resolution on a Gaza ceasefire had damaged indirect truce negotiations with Hamas, as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled an Israeli delegation visit to Washington.
Biden earlier said he told Netanyahu the two of them were headed for a “come to Jesus” meeting over the issue of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza and imposed sanctions on some Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
