2LT International News

JERUSALEM – U.S. Senator, and former Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, was in Jerusalem Wednesday to show support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose relationship with the United States is becoming increasingly strained due to the conflict in Gaza.

Scott met with Netanyahu on Wednesday just two days after the U.S. abstained on a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The abstention resulted in the Israeli prime minister cancelling a visit to the U.S. by a delegation which was to discuss with U.S. officials, the prime minister’s plans for a ground invasion of Rafah, which the U.S. has opposed unless it sees a credible plan to protect the 1.4 million civilians housed there.

Mr Netanyahu thanked the senator for visiting Jerusalem ‘and for his unwavering support for the State of Israel, especially at this time.’

“I thought the U.S. decision in the Security Council was a very, very bad move,” Mr Netanyahu told Scott at their meeting on Wednesday in the prime minister’s Jerusalem office. “The worst part about it was that it encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas.”

“My decision not to send the delegation to Washington in the wake of that resolution was a message to Hamas: Don’t bet on this pressure, it’s not going to work,” the Israeli prime minister said.

“I hope they got the message,” he added.

Senator Scott on the weekend slammed the United States stance on the planned Rafah offensive,

“The Biden administration’s continued threats to Israel as it fights against terrorism that wishes to end its existence are shameful. It’s illegitimate coercion against our ally and the only democracy in the Middle East to appease radical Left Hamas sympathizers,” Senator Scott said in a statement issued on Saturday.

“On October 7, Iran-backed Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel and slaughtered innocent families-beheading babies, raping women and children and burning families alive. Hamas killed more than 1,200 people that day and continues to hold hundreds hostage, including Americans. Have Biden and Blinken forgotten that? If Israel believes entering Rafah is necessary to eliminate Hamas, rescue hostages and end this war, the United States must stand 100 percent behind that mission,” the statement said.

Editor’s Note: The claim of babies being beheaded during the 7 October attacks has been invalidated, together with the claim that families were burned alive. The number of people killed that day was less than 1,200 (According to Bituah Leumi, Israel’s social security agency the number was 1,139). 134 hostages remain in captivity, according to Wikipedia.