GOP presidential candidates largely condemned President Biden’s pledge to give $100 million to Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war, arguing the money will likely fall into the hands of terrorists.
The president promised to fund the Palestinian territories — including the approximately 2 million residents in Gaza — in a speech in Israel Wednesday.
The Gaza Strip is a landmass surrounded by Israel and Egypt and is controlled by the terror group Hamas, which launched a deadly attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,300 Israelis and 31 Americans.
Biden’s $100 million would go to the West Bank and Gaza, the president said, and is intended to “support more than 1 million displaced and conflict-affected Palestinians, including emergency needs in Gaza.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former President Donald Trump, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum all said they are vehemently opposed to the US funding the Gaza Strip due to the presence of Hamas, while conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy denounced Biden’s reported request for an additional $100 billion for foreign wars.
DeSantis was the first to issue a statement against Biden’s “gift,” pointing out that Hamas is holding Americans hostage and calling on the other 2024 candidates to come out in opposition.
“No U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip. Hamas is holding American hostages and Biden wants to fund them? I challenge every Republican running to step up to the plate and oppose Biden’s $100 million gift to Hamas,” DeSantis said in a video posted on X.
Trump also called Biden’s funding “inappropriate.”
“It’s so inappropriate to be doing that right now. He’s over in Israel and he’s giving money to the Palestinians. I think it’s pretty inappropriate,” the 45th president told reporters during his NYC trial.
Haley’s campaign pointed to her role in cutting aid to Palestinians under the Trump administration when she was UN ambassador and said she still opposes using taxpayer dollars for Gaza.
She fought to stop the funding that was being funneled through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), an organization within the international body that has harbored antisemitic personnel, but the program was refunded by President Biden.
“Nikki opposes taxpayer dollars for Gaza just like she did when she helped eliminate it at the UN. The money is too easily diverted to Hamas and is not a good use of tax dollars. Arab countries should step up if they want to help Palestinians as much as they claim,” spokesperson Ken Farnaso told The Post.
Scott — the only candidate in the race who can enact legislation in Congress — said he will work to stop future taxpayer money from going to Hamas.
“No, there should not be a single US dollar that risks ending up in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization brutally murdered innocent Israelis and dozens of Americans. I’ll take steps this week to ensure no future taxpayer dollars make their way into the hands of Hamas,” he told The Post.
Burgum reiterated his opposition to UNRWA funding and criticized the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion to Iran — the country funding Hamas — in exchange for five American hostages.
“Joe Biden never learns — he’s funding both sides of this war with his $6 billion hostage payout and easing of oil export sanctions on Iran. Unlike other international organizations, the UN doesn’t recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization, so any money Biden gives to the UN will inevitably end up funding Hamas terrorist activities,” Burgum told The Post.
Ramaswamy called the Republican outrage on the $100 million a “sideshow” and said the other candidates are “too scared” to talk about the reported incoming Biden request for a $100 billion congressional funding package for Israel and Ukraine.
“This is a sideshow, when there is now discussion in Congress about a combined $100 billion for foreign wars we shouldn’t be in. The other Republican candidates are too scared to talk about the real elephant in the room: the disastrous ground invasion into Gaza that’s now imminent which will advance neither Israel’s interests nor ours,” Ramaswamy told The Post.
The campaign of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did not respond at the time of publication.