The Biden administration’s efforts to impose a ceasefire on Israel is a "total betrayal" of the United States’ closest Middle East ally and will allow the Hamas terrorist group to restock arms for a renewed siege on the Jewish state, GOP lawmakers told the Washington Free Beacon.
"The Biden administration’s call for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza is a total betrayal of our ally, Israel, and a gift to Hamas terrorists," House majority whip Tom Emmer (R., Minn.) told the Free Beacon following reports the Biden administration will use its power on the United Nations Security Council to force a stop to the war and prevent Israel from expanding its operation into the Gaza Strip’s Rafah city, a Hamas stronghold. The United States is also spearheading a hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas that would implement a temporary ceasefire and see Israel release scores of Palestinian terrorists in exchange for around 35 to 40 hostages.
"While Joe Biden and the Democrats continue to cave to the anti-Israel agenda being pushed by the radicals in their party, House Republicans’ support for Israel and their right to defend themselves remains undeterred," Emmer said, echoing the comments of other congressional Republicans who spoke to the Free Beacon.
The comments come as the Biden administration walks back its initial full-throated support for Israel’s effort to eradicate Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks that killed more than 1,200. The White House and Republicans in Congress were mostly on the same page about Israel’s war until recently, as the Biden administration caves to far-left anti-Israel voices in the Democratic Party who are leaning on it to more aggressively police the Jewish state’s war effort.
This includes petitioning the United Nations to impose a temporary ceasefire on Israel and formally condemn a planned offensive in Rafah that the United States and its allies say "would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries."
The administration also has leveled sanctions on Israeli Jews it claims are committing human rights crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank, a decision that some in the GOP see as an effort to erode Israel’s sovereignty over its capital city, Jerusalem. President Joe Biden, in recent remarks, criticized Israel’s defensive operations, saying the country’s response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack is "over the top."
"It would be an act of betrayal if Biden uses the U.N. to jam Israel with a ceasefire," Rep. Mike Waltz (R., Fla.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Free Beacon. "Hamas is sacrificing the lives of the Palestinian people and its hostages to turn the world against Israel. We have to let Israel destroy these terrorists."
Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a House Armed Services Committee member, accused the administration of siding "with Hamas terrorists" and criticized the Biden administration’s recent threat to veto a new tranche of aid money to Israel that the House was considering.
"Joe Biden emboldened Hamas by sending Iran billions in sanctions relief before October 7 and has since blocked aid to Israel with a veto threat," Banks told the Free Beacon. "This administration consistently sides with Hamas terrorists. It is a disgrace that will only result in more bloodshed."
Amid the Biden administration’s escalating tensions with Israel, House Republicans have pushed a range of bills and resolutions backing the Jewish state’s war on Hamas. These include more than $30 billion in emergency funding for the Jewish state and a measure imposing fresh sanctions on Hamas and its supporters across the globe. Democrats and a small minority of Republicans have held those bills up.
In the face of pressure from the Biden administration, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to move forward with plans to target Hamas in Rafah.
"We don't believe that an operation in Rafah should go forward unless there is a clear and executable plan for this and we haven't seen a plan like that," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview on Sunday.
The operation is temporarily on hold as the United States tries to foster a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, Netanyahu confirmed over the weekend.
The deal would reportedly see Israel releasing "several hundred Palestinian prisoners" in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages still being held by Hamas. In order for female captives to be released, Israel will have to free multiple Palestinian prisoners guilty of murder.
For each hostage freed, Israel will reportedly agree to a one-day pause in fighting so that humanitarian aid can enter the Gaza Strip.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on its efforts at the United Nations and information about the contours of the looming hostage deal.