Joe Biden insisted on Saturday, in a solemn speech at the White House, that the United States’ support for Israel was “set in stone and unshakeable”.
“Today, the people of Israel are under attack by a terrorist organization, Hamas. At this tragic moment, I want to tell him, the world and terrorists everywhere: the United States stands with Israel. We will never fail to support them,” added the American president.
This promise of support, however, comes at a time of institutional difficulty in the United States.
The House of Representatives, which with the Senate makes up Congress, is paralyzed due to internal squabbles within the Republican Party, and the United States is on budgetary reprieve.
The American federal government will indeed run out of money on November 17 (“shutdown”) if Congress does not vote on a budget by then.
“Israel has the right to defend itself, period,” declared the 80-year-old democrat, speaking of a “terrible human tragedy” after the spectacular surprise offensive by Hamas, which fired thousands of rockets, infiltrated fighters into Israeli territory and captured Israelis.
“Let me say this with all possible clarity: now is not the time for any actor hostile to Israel to seek to exploit these attacks for their own benefit. The whole world is watching,” Joe Biden warned.
He said he had mobilized his services to ensure that Israelis had “everything they need.” »
The democrat indicated that he had spoken in particular with the King of Jordan, and asked his teams to be in “constant contact” with various states and organizations: Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, European countries and the Palestinians.