President Joe Biden said Wednesday that extremist Israeli settlers who are attacking Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are “pouring gasoline” on the conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.
“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did, I have no proof of this, just my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards [inaudible] immigration for Israel and [inaudible] immigration overall. And we can’t leave that work behind,” Biden said during a press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia.
“And one more word on this. I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank. That pouring gasoline on a fire is what it is like. This was a deal. A deal was made and they are attacking Palestinians in places they are entitled to be. It has to stop.”
President Biden says he’s alarmed by reports that Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, saying they’re “pouring gasoline on a fire…It has to stop. It has to stop now.”
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 25, 2023
After Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, brutally murdering civilians and taking others hostage, Israel declared war on the terrorist organization. Since the war was declared, extremist Israeli settlers within the West Bank have reportedly entered villages and attacked Palestinian civilians, according to BBC News.
The number of attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank has increased to an average of eight incidents a day following the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, The Guardian reported. In the first eight months of 2023, the number of incidents was an average of three attacks a day.
Amid reports that the U.S. officials were encouraging the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to delay their ground invasion, Biden added during the press conference that he did not “demand” such action but suggested that they “should” give more time to negotiate for the release of more hostages. (RELATED: Biden Exerting Unprecedented Level Of Influence Behind The Scenes To Scale Back Israel’s Gaza Offensive: Report)
Israel agreed Wednesday to delay their ground invasion into Gaza to give the U.S. Department of Defense enough time to boost its air defenses around U.S. troops in the Middle East.
“Well, I have indicated to him is that if that’s possible, to get these folks out safely, that’s what he should do, it’s their decision, but I did not demand it,” Biden said about the delay of a ground invasion.
