Ministers from Israel's far-right parties on Thursday expressed their discontent at US President Joe Biden's comments in a CNN interview on Wednesday that he would stop US weapon aid to Israel if the IDF would launch a large-scale operation in Rafah.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X, "Hamas [loves] Biden," using a heart emoji instead of the word "loves".
Hamas ❤️Biden
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 9, 2024
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted in Hebrew and soon after in English, "As we approach our Independence Day, we are reminded, yet again, that our War of Independence is still ongoing."
Smotrich appears to agree
"When the state of Israel was established, we were compelled to declare our statehood despite the strong opposition of Marshall, the Secretary of State in the Truman administration. We also had to face an arms embargo implemented by the United States against a state that was just newly formed," Smotrich wrote.
"Once again, today, we will achieve complete victory in this war despite President Biden’s push back and arms embargo. We simply have no choice as this war is an existential one and anything other than complete victory will put the existence of the Jewish state in danger," Smotrich added.
"There are two urgent matters that we must address immediately: 1- We must continue the war until Hamas is totally eliminated and our hostages are back home. This involves conquering Rafah completely and the sooner the better. 2- We must maintain our unity at all costs. That is the only way that we will be able to effectively defeat our enemies and withstand the international pressure to end the war and suffer defeat," Smotrich concluded.
Ben-Gvir's tweet drew widespread criticism.
In a ceremony commemorating VE Day and the Allies victory over Nazi Germany, President Isaac Herzog said, "It is important for me to say that even when there are disagreements and moments of disappointment between friends and allies, there is a way to clarify the disputes and it is beholden upon all of us to avoid baseless, irresponsible and insulting statements and tweets that harm the national security and the interests of the State of Israel.”
אם נתניהו לא יפטר את בן גביר עוד היום, הוא מעמיד בסכנה כל חייל בצה״ל וכל אזרח במדינת ישראל.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) May 9, 2024
Opposition head Yair Lapid wrote on X, "If Netanyahu does not fire Ben-Gvir today, he is endangering every soldier in the IDF and every citizen in the State of Israel.
Labor party leader MK Merav Michaeli wrote on X, "Netanyahu and his government continue to make Israel's strategic situation worse and take us closer and closer towards existential danger. This is what Netanyahu has done throughout his time in office. Now, it is out in the open, for all to see, and his sidekick is an embarrassing hilltop youth who only knows how to shout 'I'm the boss around here'. Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel.”