Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-NY, slammed President Joe Biden this week after he said Israel has the right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas.
The pro-Palestinian terrorist group bombarded the Jewish nation–state with more than a thousand missiles earlier this week as part of an overnight attack.
The renewed hostility follows closely on the heels of Biden’s decision last month to reverse a Trump-era policy by supplying $235 million in aid to support Palestinian refugees.
However, it is unclear whether the funding from America was applied directly to purchasing the weapons used in the attack.
Biden also recently announced a $90 billion payday in repealed sanctions for Iran—long understood to be a state-sponsor of Hamas—as compensation for the Islamic republic graciously agreeing to engage in talks about rejoining the Obama-era nuclear agreement.
But despite showing tepid support for Israel, on Wednesday, Biden defended the longtime US ally after speaking with the nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Israel has the right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory,” he said. “My hope is that we’ll see this coming to a conclusion sooner than later.”
Ocasio–Cortez immediately denounced Biden.
“Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence—namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al Aqsa—dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s wrong.”
She further complained that Biden had conflated everyday Palestinians with Hamas.
Hamas often launches its attacks near schools, hospitals and other strategic bases of operation in Palestinian territories, using innocent civilians as human shields to maximize the collateral damage from any counterstrike.
By only stepping in to name Hamas’ actions – which are condemnable – & refusing to acknowledge the rights of Palestinians, Biden reinforces the false idea that Palestinians instigated this cycle of violence.
This is not neutral language. It takes a side – the side of occupation.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 12, 2021
Ocasio–Cortez wasn’t the only leftist who turned on Biden:
Such a major turn off https://t.co/GqQfW23Mp5
— Every Issue Is Health Issue (@oxfara) May 13, 2021
Bernie should’ve been our President. https://t.co/mNyW5jtdXz
— Jen Perelman (@JENFL23) May 12, 2021
Good luck trying to bully folks into voting for this clown again! https://t.co/wRxbjCpc5v
— Brooke Obie (@BrookeObie) May 13, 2021
However, other Democratic leaders have come out in support of Biden’s position.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., similarly said Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas’s “indiscriminate” attacks, and Democrat Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Elaine Luria of Virginia chided their leftist colleagues for pushing a Hamas-supportive narrative.
“A critical point for some of my colleagues whose facts are a bit off: Hamas is the terrorist organization, as designated by the United States,” Gottheimer said. “The U.S. supports our ally Israel’s right to defend itself, particularly against heinous Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
