The White House reacted to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik’s (RN.Y.) speech before the Israeli government’s legislative body on Sunday, when she attacked President Biden for his political approach toward Israel and the war in Gaza.
In a statement, White House spokesman Andrew Bates reaffirmed Biden’s “staunch” support for Israel’s security and said: “There has been no better friend to Israel than President Biden.”
“He was the first American president to visit Israel during wartime – following the horrific October 7 terrorist attacks – and the first president to order the U.S. military to defend Israel from attack by a foreign nation,” Bates added.
Bates sharply criticized Stefanik for not speaking out against former President Trump after the October 7 attacks, when Trump accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “letting us down” in 2020, before the US killed a top general Iranian.
Trump, in the week following the October 7 attacks, also suggested that the Biden administration and public discussions by Israeli leaders helped Hezbollah plan new attacks on Israel. In a subsequent interview, he said Israel “wouldn’t have to be prepared” if it were in the White House and called Israel’s defense minister an “idiot.”
“Unlike some figures on the right, President Biden did not rail against the Israeli government in the days after October 7, nor did he ever praise terrorist organizations like Hezbollah – and he will not be lectured by anyone who has remained silent in the face of these statements offensive.
“Furthermore, no one should confuse the Jan. 6 convicts who assaulted police officers with the innocent hostages brutally taken captive by Hamas on Oct. 7,” Bates added, referring to Stefanik’s use of the phrase “hostages” to refer to those arrested on January 6th. protesters who were convicted of related charges.
Trump was the first to refer to the convicted protesters as “hostages” – a term more closely associated with the nearly 250 hostages taken from their homes during Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Stefanik — who became the highest-ranking member of the House to travel to Israel since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 — specifically criticized Biden for halting some arms shipments to Israel, due to concerns about the planned Gaza operation .
The Biden administration has faced scrutiny over the pause, which halted the transfer of about 3,500 heavy bombs to Israel as the Israel Defense Forces prepared to advance its operation in southern and central Gaza. The White House later said it plans to transfer $1 billion worth of weapons to Israel.
“I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: there is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel – aid that was duly approved by Congress, or to ease sanctions on Iran by paying a $6 billion ransom to its main sponsor. state of terrorism in the world, or hesitate and hide while our friends fight for their lives,” Stefanik said in prepared remarks ahead of her speech on Sunday.
“There is no excuse. Period,” she added. “That’s why I sponsored, or supported, every measure to aid Israel that was presented to the US Congress. Each one.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
