Trump slams Biden’s ‘weakness,’ lack of support for Israel
Amid intense fighting between IDF and Palestinian terror groups, former US president says his term was ‘Peace Presidency,’ successor making world ‘more violent and more unstable’
Donald Trump took a solidly pro-Israel stance Tuesday amid an escalation of deadly violence, as the former US president accused successor Joe Biden of “weakness” and lack of support for the Jewish state.
“Under Biden, the world is getting more violent and more unstable because Biden’s weakness and lack of support for Israel is leading to new attacks on our allies,” Trump said in a statement.
Hailing his own administration as “the Peace Presidency,” Trump said Israel’s adversaries knew there would be “swift retribution if Israel was attacked” when he was the US president.
“America must always stand with Israel and make clear that the Palestinians must end the violence, terror, and rocket attacks, and make clear that the US will always strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Several nights of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police, particularly around the flashpoint Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, spiraled on Monday night into a confrontation in Gaza.
Since then, barrages amounting to over 1,000 rockets fired from Gaza by terror groups have killed five people in Israel. After retaliatory Israeli airstrikes at least 28 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, with most said by Israel to be members of terror groups or victims of errant Hamas rocket fire.
The Biden administration on Tuesday called for calm and restraint by Israel and the Palestinians, and urged both sides to avoid “deeply lamentable” civilian deaths.
But “Israel does have a right to defend itself,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.