Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) denounced U.S. President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold military aid to Israel if it goes into Gaza as “back-pedaling” and “a complete reversal” of his promise to the Jewish state after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack.
“Biden swore Israel would not be alone in this fight. Now, he’s making a politically oriented decision to turn his back on our greatest ally in the Middle East,” the senior Republican senator said on Thursday.
Grassley, 90, added that since October, the Israel Defense Forces have “taken necessary actions to respond to the violence instigated by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists while working to minimize the collateral deaths of civilians.”
“Make no mistake: If Hamas had not invaded Israel on Oct. 7, there would be no deaths today,” Grassley said.
Biden should learn from the past, according to the Iowa Republican, who has served in the U.S. Senate since his first election in 1980. (He was previously a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Iowa state legislature.)
“The United States was the first country to recognize Israel, and our relationship has for decades played an important role in U.S. national security,” Grassley said. “Israel is a strong democracy and a homeland for the Jewish people. We must always stand with them.”
