Ted Cruz in Israel: Blame Biden for escalation of Hamas terror attacks

“The longer Joe Biden shows weakness to Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran, the more you’re going to see terrorist attacks escalating,” said Cruz.

By Josh Plank, World Israel News

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) blamed President Joe Biden’s weak posture toward Israel’s enemies for the escalation in attacks against the Jewish State in an interview with the Associated Press on Monday.

“The longer Joe Biden shows weakness to Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran, the more you’re going to see terrorist attacks escalating,” said Cruz.

“Appeasing terrorists doesn’t produce peace,” he said.

Cruz, who arrived in Israel on Sunday with Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), made the comments after a day of touring Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and viewing Hamas rocket damage in Ashkelon.

Hagerty tweeted a video of himself standing in the rubble of an elderly woman’s apartment where a Hamas rocket had killed the woman’s caregiver.

“This is cowardice at its worst,” said Hagerty.

“This is why we need to support Israel. This is why we need to replenish the Iron Dome,” he said.

Cruz tweeted photos of the apartment and called the situation “heartbreaking.”

“Countless times, I’ve seen a Mezuzah hanging on a door frame. This is the first time I’ve seen one on a home bombed by terrorists,” he said.

Hagerty was also critical of Biden’s Middle East policies, including the administration’s pledge to provide millions in aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

“Any monies that go to the Gaza Strip that are intended for infrastructure can be easily diverted by Hamas,” Hagerty told Associated Press.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. will be providing the PA with more than $360 million. “All of these funds will be administered in a way that benefit the Palestinian people — not Hamas, which has only brought misery and despair to Gaza,” he said.

Last month, Hagerty and Cruz joined Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in introducing the Emergency Resupply for Iron Dome Act of 2021.

“My legislation requires the Biden Administration to halt U.S. foreign assistance from going to Gaza and other Hamas-dominated areas and instead to redirect these resources to help Israel resupply its live-saving Iron Dome interceptors,” Hagerty said upon the bill’s introduction.

Cruz said, “I am proud to join Sen. Hagerty on this critical legislation urging President Biden to lead with clarity on this issue and not moral relativism or appeasement.”