Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with all the important players on his U.S. tour last week. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee for president, skipped Netanyahu’s address to Congress but did make time for the prime minister later in his visit. Netanyahu met with sitting President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, as well.
The message Netanyahu received in a private meeting with Harris is different than what Harris says in public, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee), said on Washington Watch Friday.
What’s also different is the claim that U.S. soldiers are not actively engaged in the war right now, Burchett told show host Jody Hice.
“People need to realize, we’re funding both sides of this thing, folks. We sent $6 billion into Hamas, that crazy pier, so Biden could mix his words and say, ‘No American boots are on the ground in Gaza,’” Buchett said, using air quotes. “There are Americans on the ground in there, and they are operating.”
The pier itself cost $320 million to build and was criticized by both sides. Bob Kitchen, an official with the International Rescue Committee, called it a “side show.” Critics say it took pressure off Israel to open more border crossings.
The messaging comes amid Hezbollah’s weekend attack on Israel’s Golan Heights in which a rocket struck a soccer field killing at least 12 children and teenagers and wounding many more. Netanyahu vowed that Hezbollah will “pay a heavy price.”
Publicly, Harris has continued to pressure Israel for a ceasefire but won’t say if she’s requiring a ceasefire of Hamas. Israeli officials have said that Harris’ remarks to Netanyahu in private were much different than her public remarks. Burchett concured.
“She’ll meet with Netanyahu and play nice behind closed doors, but she is not a friend of Israel's. I would be very cautious of anything she says or does, because all she's concerned about is the campaign,” Burchett said.
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Harris decries ‘despicable acts’
While Netanyahu spoke inside the Capitol last week, protesters removed the American flag at Union Station and raised a Palestinian flag. They also vandalized property, including the Freedom Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell, which was placed outside the station by the American Legion in the late 1970s. Harris has publicly condemned the protesters for “despicable acts.”
In a White House statement Harris said she condemns “any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews.” She continued: “Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent, and we must not tolerate it in our nation.”
Burchett said the VP's public comments are acts themselves.
“It’s very clear to me what's going on with her," he said. "You’ve got these protesters – and the number of protesters that showed up was greatly overestimated – but they were allowed to do a lot of damage: painting things and, as you saw, taking down the American flag and putting up Hamas flags and things like that. It was just awful, and that's who she's appealing to. That is her base,” he said.
At least eight people arrested at the Union Station protests are facing federal criminal charges, according to The Washington Examiner. That’s far fewer than the original 25 arrests from multiple agencies. Among 11 cases not brought to bear were charges of crossing a police line and disorderly conduct, The Examiner reported.
During his address to lawmakers, Netanyahu referred to the protesters as “Iran’s useful idiots.”
“I guarantee you, a lot of them aren't even American citizens," Burchett said. "And I guarantee you that a lot of them don't even know why they're there, that they're paid to be there by some billionaires who are supporting the Democratic Party. So, I think folks better dig into this a little more,” he urged.
Could there be an Iron Dome for U.S.?
Netanyahu has continually said that Israel will finish the job rooting out Hamas. He told lawmakers that goal will be reached more quickly if U.S. military aid arrives more quickly.
The Iron Dome (right), a mobile, all-weather air defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells, is key part of Israel’s defense.
In a recent visit to Israel, according to Burchett, Netanyahu told him: “Tim, they shoot them at us, and we blow them up with your help.” Israel reports the Iron Dome has a 90% success rate.
Trump has proposed a similar defense system for the U.S. Burchett said he could see a continued U.S.-Israeli partnership in such a venture.
“I’m not sure it's feasible [and] I don't know at what cost. But I do know in some of our more vulnerable areas – and in some of our major cities that would be more susceptible to a terrorist-type missile attack – that we would in fact be partners in that as we are in their Iron Dome,” the congressman explained.
