US President Joe Biden drew a direct link between Russia’s war in Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel, urging Americans not to abandon their role as a “beacon to the world,” the White House reported.
The leader of the United States addressed the nation to weave together the Ukrainian and Middle East conflicts and persuade voters and Republicans to help the war-torn countries.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”
In Tel Aviv, Biden backed Israel preparing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip following the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people. He also called on Israel to “operate by the laws of war.” More than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in aerial bombardments in Gaza.
Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, and innocent Palestinian families are suffering greatly because of them.
Biden’s planned meeting in Jordan was cancelled after a Gaza hospital blast sparking angry protests in the Middle East.
The President then turned to the topic of the war in Ukraine. After a dialogue with President Volodymyr Zelensky, he stated:
“History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going and the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising.”
Biden added that he would send an emergency budget request to Congress to fund support for partners, including Israel and Ukraine, on Friday.
It’s a smart investment that is going to pay dividends for American security for generations.
The emergency funding request would amount to about $100 billion, including $60 billion for Ukraine and $10 billion for Israel, but a financing decision could be delayed because Republicans cannot elect a new House Speaker.
The conflict in Israel has heightened tensions in the US, sparking protests and counter-protests across the country. Activists and some members of his own Democratic Party criticised Biden for linking America’s fate to that of Israel while downplaying the humanitarian concerns of more than two million people in Gaza.
He devoted part of his Oval Office speech to denouncing both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia within the country.
“And I know many of you in the Muslim American community, the Arab American community, the Palestinian American community, and so many others are outraged and hurting, saying to yourself, here we go again, with Islamophobia and distrust we saw after 9/11.”
Biden concluded his speech with a call for unity directed at both the Congress and the public, where the “America First” isolationism promoted by Donald Trump still enjoyed significant support.
I know we have our divisions at home. We have to get past them. We can’t let petty partisan angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation.
Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, stated that the House Republicans demonstrated their complete incompetence and plunged the House of Representatives into chaos, while President Biden unequivocally supported Israel and Ukraine.
