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GOP 2024 presidential aspirants target Joe Biden response to Israel-Palestine conflict to make impact

Top leaders of former Donald Trump presidency like Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence have slammed the current administration to allege that the US's position on Middle East has been weakened

Ever since the Republican Party lost the presidency and control of the Senate in the 2020 elections, it has tried to capitalize on the alleged shortfalls of the Joe Biden administration to make a strong comeback in the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential polls. One issue over which they have targeted the current administration is its handling of illegal immigrants at the southern border, alleging that the Biden White House has compromised national security by allowing illegal immigrants, including those affected by the coronavirus and having tainted backgrounds. Now, they have also started targeting Biden over his response to the latest Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East which saw a ceasefire on Thursday, May 20.
 
Biden’s response to the flare-up which saw many dead and thousands injured has presented those in the GOP with presidential ambitions an opportunity to score points with the supporters and build a foundation in the run-up to the 2024 presidential battle. One among them is Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state in the former Donald Trump administration that favored Israel. Pompeo, who is known for his hawkish foreign policy stances, has accused Biden of showing the US as a weak player to the key actors in the Middle East and that contributed to the latest clashes, one of the worst in the history of enmity between Israel and the Palestinians.  

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Even though Biden backed Israel against Hamas’s rocket strikes saying the Jewish state had its right to defense and vowed to ensure that the extremist outfit did not get to restock its military arsenal in the future, Pompeo felt the US president actually suggested a “moral equivalence” between the Hamas militants targeting Israeli cities and Israel’s retaliation. According to Pompeo, Hamas took advantage of Washington’s lack of resolve to continue with its attacks. 

In a virtual discussion on Tuesday, May 18, Pompeo, who has aggressively sought to boost his public image of late amid speculation that he could contest the 2024 presidential poll which could see a number of top Republicans including Trump, has been building on his strengths, which is foreign policy. He has positioned himself as the most vocal critic of Biden’s foreign policy and international cooperation. Last month, Pompeo urged the Biden administration to side with Israel by preventing its regional ally Iran from building nuclear weapons.

“They know this is not a red light,” he said in the discussion held with the far-right Center for Security Policy. “This is not something that concerns them and they are likely to do just the kind of violence you are seeing today,” Pompeo added.

Mike Pence slams Biden on Israel

Former vice president Mike Pence said in an op-ed for The National Journal earlier this week that the Trump administration had created opportunities for peace in the Middle East by backing deals between Israel and some Middle East nations.

Pence, who is also seen as a prominent candidate who could contest the 2024 polls, said in his op-ed that Biden has given the world a completely different message. According to the former veep, the current administration has invited violence through weakness instead of seeking peace through strength. 

GOP Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, also a potential candidate in 2024, also slammed the Biden administration, saying calls for a ceasefire were “tantamount to Hamas propaganda” and criticized all those who would draw an equivalence between Israel and the terror outfit. “If Hamas puts down its weapons there would be peace,” Cotton said on the Senate floor, adding: “If Israel puts down its weapons there would be no Israel.” He also tweeted on Thursday targeting Biden: "Will @JoeBiden pressure Iran to stop funding the terrorists attacking Israel? Or is @JoeBiden's pressure only directed at Israel for defending itself from terrorism?"

Dems split over Biden's Israel approach

While the GOP has found itself largely united over the Middle East crisis, the Democratic Party has been deeply split. The progressive wing of the party, including Squad members like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar and veteran Senator Bernie Sanders who caucuses with the blue party, have been critical of the Israelis. They have also slammed Biden saying he has shown favoritism towards the Jewish state. Tlaib recently was even seen confronting Biden on the tarmac at the Detroit airport whereby she reportedly conveyed to the commander-in chief her dissatisfaction over the US’ response to the Israel-Hamas clashes. 

“We have seen over the last 20 years or so the issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which had strong bipartisan agreement, has become more partisan over time with Republicans more likely to side with the Israelis and Democrats sort of less inclined to side consistently with Israelis,” Chris Preble, of the Atlantic Council, was quoted as saying by The Times. “Part of that is generational,” he said. “Younger people are more open to approaching this from a more even-handed perspective than what has traditionally been a more pro-Israel stance.”

Biden had his first telephonic talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu almost a month after taking oath and is yet to appoint a US envoy to that country. However, critics have targeted him yet saying he has not reversed his predecessor’s pro-Israel policies as they would have liked to see.