In a new statement, former US President Donald Trump sharply criticizes Joe Biden’s handling of Israel’s warfare in Gaza, urging Jewish voters to re-evaluate their support for the current administration while accusing Biden of “abandoning” Israel.

In a number of recent speeches and interviews, Donald Trump has spoken out on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, strongly criticising Joe Biden’s decision to stop certain arms shipments to Israel.

The statements come as Israel looks to intensify pressure on Hamas and in the Gaza Strip. Recent days have seen the IDF, for example, escalate fighting in and around Rafah.

Trump calls Biden’s actions ”disgraceful” and urges Jewish voters to question their support for the current administration. He accuses Biden of ”abandoning” Israel and says this is a politically motivated act that damages the US-Israel relationship.

– What Biden is doing with respect to Israel is a disgraceful. If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden they should feel ashamed of themselves. He has totally abandoned Israel. Nobody can believe it. I guess he feels good about it, because he did it as a political decision. You have to do the right decision and not the political decision, Donald Trump said in an interview last week.

“Full support”

Trump was very clear in his support for Israel and the Jewish people during his presidency. The ex-president strongly distances himself from Joe Biden’s current policy on Israel and emphasizes the importance of ”fully supporting Israel defeating, dismantling, and permanently destroying the terrorist group Hamas”.

He stresses that the US must make decisions that are in the best interests of both Israel and the Jewish people and not act on political motives that could damage the relationship between the two countries. While criticizing Biden, Trump also took the opportunity to underline his own commitment to Israel.

Trump points out that during his presidency, significant progress was made in strengthening US-Israel ties, and that he will always be a strong advocate for Israel’s security and well-being.

– If you are Jewish and vote for him, I say shame on you. He is completely gone on the other side now. He’s gone – he has let Israel go, he emphasized.

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has called on the American Jewish diaspora to elect a leader who prioritizes Israel’s security over political considerations. However, this could have consequences in the form of reduced voter support from his original supporters – the American working class.

If the ICC issues an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, there will be consequences for the court’s employees and their families. That’s what 12 pro-Israel senators promise in a threatening letter to the court’s chief prosecutor.

The considerable strength of the Israel lobby in the US, which funds many American politicians, is nothing new, but has become even more evident in the context of the ongoing war in Gaza.

Nevertheless, many reacted with surprise and dismay when a group of Republican senators decided to sign a letter threatening the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, and his family should the ICC decide to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

The letter is signed by 12 Republican senators, including Mitch McConnel, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio, and states that an arrest warrant for any Israeli leader will be interpreted “not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States”.

Read the letter from 12 Republican senators threatening ICC chief prosecutor @KarimKhanQC with "severe" consequences for him, his family & staff if he goes ahead with an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. "You have been warned."

Oh and subscribe to Zeteo too:https://t.co/pVvXi4IB6C pic.twitter.com/aXfKH03T16

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) May 6, 2024

“You have been warned”

“Target Israel and we will target you”, they threaten, promising “strong sanctions” against the court’s staff and associates “and bar you and your families from the United States”.

“You have been warned”, the Republicans declare, adding that the US will withdraw all support for the ICC if it acts against Israel.

Other signatories to the letter include Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn, Katie Boyd Britt, Ted Budd, Kevin Cramer, Bill Hagerty, Pete Ricketts, Rick Scott and Tim Scott.

Statement of the #ICC Office of the Prosecutor pic.twitter.com/Cw331pMcDm

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 3, 2024

Mafia-like methods

However, not all US politicians are impressed with the strategy of threatening the ICC into obedience, with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen noting that it is “absolutely wrong to interfere in a judicial matter by threatening judicial officers, their family members and their employees with retribution”.

“This thuggery is something befitting the mafia, not US senators”, he writes.

In a statement, the ICC condemned all threats against the court and all attempts to influence or intimidate court personnel.

President Biden admits that US bombs have killed Palestinian civilians and that a major arms shipment to Israel has been halted.

– We’ve been very clear… from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battle space. And again, as we assessed the situation, we have paused one shipment of high payload munitions, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed at a Senate hearing.

The hearing came days after it was reported that a US shipment of 3,500 American bombs to Israel – just over half of them weighing 900 kilograms each – had been halted.

– We’ve not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment, the defense secretary continued, while pledging that the US will continue to do what is necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself.

Yesterday, President Biden also stated that “civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they (Israel) go after population centers”.

– I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – 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 … But it’s just wrong. We’re not going to — we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used.

– We’re not walking away from Israel’s security. We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas, he continued.

BREAKING: BIDEN ADMITS WHAT THE WORLD KNEW -AMERICAN MADE MEGA BOMBS KILLED CHILDREN

“Have those bombs, those powerful 2,000-pound bombs, been used to kill civilians in Gaza?”

BIDEN: “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs.. pic.twitter.com/VEkTxBBHoq

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) May 9, 2024

Strong Israel lobby

The situation for Joe Biden and his administration is complicated because the US has been Israel’s most important ally for decades, but the Israel lobby also has enormous influence on US foreign and security policy, where politicians critical of Israel can expect to be opposed and character assassinated by organizations like AIPAC.

On the other hand, a growing number of Democratic voters – and even representatives – have turned against what they describe as Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. There have been widespread protests on American campuses and in American cities, with younger Democratic voters in particular blaming Biden for seemingly unwavering American support for Israel’s war machine.

Some observers have even suggested that Biden’s support for Israel and his inability to condemn Israeli crimes could be the main reason he loses the upcoming presidential election to Donald Trump – who has been described as one of the most pro-Israel presidents ever.

Following the announcement to suspend the bomb shipments, Republican senator Ted Cruz accused Biden and his staff of being “is the most anti-Israel in history“ and claimed that the White House is now “aiding Hamas’s war against Israel“.