North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Thursday accused President Biden of negotiating on behalf of “terrorists” after he threatened to withhold weapon shipments to Israel if it proceeds with its planned invasion of Rafah.
In an interview with CNN that aired Wednesday, Biden said, “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs” and that he has made clear to Israel “if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem.”
MANY ISRAELIS FEEL ‘BETRAYED’ FOLLOWING BIDEN THREAT TO WITHHOLD ARMS TO DEFEAT HAMAS IN RAFAH
Rep. Cory Mills is preparing impeachment articles against President Biden over his threat to halt U.S. offensive aid to Israel, Fox News Digital learned. (Getty Images)
Burgum tore into Biden during an appearance Thursday on “America’s Newsroom.” He called the president’s shift in policy “truly unbelievable” while emphasizing Biden’s apparent readiness to abandon “America’s top ally” as it prepares for a ground invasion into Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza.
“We’re incompletely new territory here for apresident of the United Statesbecause we’ve always had a rule, which is don’t negotiate withterrorists, but Joe Biden has gone beyond that — he’s actually negotiating for theterrorists,”Burgum said.
“He’s put a red line forIsrael, for our ally, and whenyou think about that, think ofevery one of our allies aroundthe world watching this andgoing, ‘Wow, Israel is supposed tobe America’s top ally and thepresident is threatening them?’”
Earlier this week, Israeli officials claimed the United States had paused a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition, as Axios reported. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre maintained that the U.S. commitment to Israel is “ironclad,” but the report was ultimately confirmed by a U.S. official who said the administration paused shipments of two types of precision bombs to Israel.
One shipment would provide 2,000-pound bombs, with 1,800 to be delivered. The second held 500-pound bombs, with 1,700 to be delivered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel “will stand alone” to defeat Hamas, if necessary, after Biden threatened to halt weapon shipments to the Jewish state. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)
Burgum said Biden appears to be back-peddling from his ironclad commitment to the Jewish state to appease the “pro-Hamas part of the Democrat Party.”
“How about Joe Biden saying we’llkeep providing weapons until yourelease the hostages, Hamas?”Burgum asked. “He should be negotiatingalongside of Israel.He is on the opposite side ofthe table.”
“I can tell you that if President Trump was in officeright now, this would not behappening,” he added. “This is Joe Biden’s weakness ondisplay like it was withAfghanistan, like it’s beenaround the world.”
Biden’s high-stakes ultimatum for Israel prompted a flurry of backlash from Republicans and some moderate Democrats. Several GOP lawmakers voiced support for impeaching Biden over the decision, arguing there are parallels to Trump’s withholding of weapons aid to Ukraine in exchange for announcing an investigation into the Biden family.
Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., began drafting impeachment articles against the president, Fox News Digital reported Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel “will stand alone” to defeat Hamas, if necessary.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
