Democratic Members of Congress from the far-left 'Squad' praised US President Joe Biden's threat he would halt arms shipments to Israel over the IDF's military operation in Rafah, crediting the recent anti-Israel protests for the president's move.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) wrote on X: "We have to keep standing for what is right. Organizing is working. Protesting is working. Keep fighting for a #CeasefireNow."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also wrote on X: "Biden has not “lost his mind.” He is upholding the word of the US. There are 1.3 million people in Rafah. You do not need to slaughter them to go after Hamas."
"Biden stated the US red line was Rafah. It would make us weaker & the world less safe to let Bibi, or anyone, cross it," Ocasio Cortez wrote.
Biden's decision was opposed by another Democratic Congressman from New York, Rep. Ritchie Torres. Torres, who has been an outspoken supporter of Israel, wrote on X: "“As the leader of the free world, America cannot claim that its commitment to Israel is ‘iron-clad’ and then proceed to withhold aid from Israel."
"The mixed messaging makes a mockery of our credibility as an ally. No one will take our word seriously,” Torres added.
Biden told CNN on Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett in an exclusive interview, referring to 2,000-pound bombs that Biden paused shipments of last week.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” Biden added.