As Biden exits US presidential race, Israeli president expresses gratitude for unshakeable support
Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, has taken to X to thank Biden for his support during Israel’s war on Gaza.
Herzog thanked Biden for his “friendship and steadfast support for the Israeli people over his decades long career”, adding that he is a “symbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoples”.
Biden has, since Israel began its war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas’s deadly attacks on Israel, been unflinching in his support for what he calls Israel’s “right to self-defence”, even as the country’s attacks on Gaza have killed at least 38,983 and wounded and 89,727 others.
The outgoing US president has gone against much of the international community, which has called for harsh consequences for Israel over its actions during the war.
Biden-Netanyahu meeting to go ahead
The Associated Press reports that the two leaders will meet as planned as the Israeli prime minister makes his trip to Washington, DC.
The meeting was thrown into doubt when Joe Biden announced earlier today that he will not be seeing re-election to the US presidency this November.
More Israeli officials ‘thank’ Biden for his support
On X, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid shared a photo of himself fist-bumping Biden and wrote, “Thank you.”
Thank you. pic.twitter.com/mJtvHwDIqT
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) July 21, 2024
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett called Biden a “true friend of Israel who stood by us in our most difficult moments”.
“During my tenure as prime minister, I witnessed his unwavering support of the State of Israel,” he said. “Thank you for everything.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also thanked the US President for his “unwavering support of Israel over the years”.
“Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable,” he said. “We are grateful for your leadership and friendship.”
Thank you President @JoeBiden, for your unwavering support of Israel over the years. Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable. We are grateful for your leadership and friendship. 🇺🇸🇮🇱
— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) July 21, 2024
Israel lawmaker slams Biden’s Palestine legacy
Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi, who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, has published a post on X saying: “When President Biden visited [Bethlehem] at the beginning of his term, he promised to secure 4G technology for Palestinians.
“The term ended without 4G communication, but with thousands of guided bombs and F-35s that killed thousands of Palestinian children [in Gaza].”
In July 2022, Biden visited Israel and the occupied West Bank, where he proposed US assistance for UNRWA and the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network. Washington also said at the time that Israel would help Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza achieve 4G connectivity by the end of next year.
Biden announced today that he will not be seeking re-election, dropping out of the 2024 US presidential race.
And Biden banned UNWRA funding until at least 2025 by law.
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/03/25/u-s-bans-unrwa-funding-for-one-year/
US Palestinian rights group says Joe Biden’s legacy is ‘genocide’
The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPR) said on social media that Joe Biden had “repeatedly funded, armed, and backed Israel’s mass slaughter of the Palestinian people”.
“It was not Biden’s failed debate that showed he is unfit to lead. It was the tens of thousands of bombs he sent to kill Palestinian families,” the group said in a statement posted on X.
“Nothing will erase the fact that” President Biden’s “legacy is – and always will be – GENOCIDE”, the group added.
🧵 STATEMENT: BIDEN'S LEGACY IS GENOCIDE
Nothing will erase the fact that @POTUS's legacy is—and always will be—GENOCIDE.
Over the past 9 months, he has repeatedly funded, armed, and backed Israel’s mass slaughter of the Palestinian people. #StopArmingIsrael
— USCPR ACTION (@uscpr_action) July 21, 2024
