Former US Ambassador to Israel excoriates Biden administration over UN vote, says Hamas chief is ‘celebrating in Tehran.’
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman lambasted the Biden administration and the Democratic Party over the refusal of the American mission to the United Nations to invoke the U.S. veto to block a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking with Ynet in an interview published Wednesday, Friedman said the UN resolution would have a “very serious” impact on efforts by Israel to secure a hostage deal with Hamas.
“Obviously that makes it much more difficult to negotiate anything with them with regard to the hostages. You know, in Israel, there are those who severely criticize the Biden administration, wondering if the alliance between Israel and the U.S. is still strong.”
Friedman lamented that Ismail Haniyeh, the exiled chairman of Hamas, is likely celebrating this week’s resolution as a victory.
“I think that the fact that Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran today celebrating the UN resolution tells you that Hamas is feeling confident. They think they can survive the war.”
“You know who is listening most carefully to this, of all people? Yahya Sinwar, of Hamas. He hears this and he says: ‘Look what I did. I destroyed the relationship between Israel and America. I undermined the elected leader of the Jewish state. I have brought America to a point of friction with Israel, and that makes me a winner,” Friedman said in a separate interview with Newsmax on Tuesday.
Not limiting his criticism to the White House, Friedman criticized the behavior of Congressional Democrats, including senior party leaders like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“This was a betrayal of Israel, not just by Biden, by the Democratic Party,” Friedman told Ynet. “I mean, it began with Bernie Sanders, and then it moved on to Chuck Schumer, and now the Biden administration as well. I mean, it’s very discouraging and disappointing.”
“Whatever differences exist with regard to Israel and America on strategy, the war is complicated and people can disagree, but they should be handled privately, especially not with the United Nations, which has never been a friend of Israel.”