Humanitarian crisis in Syria: The situation is escalating Gaza Strip is driving an wedge between Ron DeSantis and Nikki HaleyTwo of the most prominent Republican presidential candidates who diverged sharply on Sunday, the United States debated whether it should assist Palestinian refugees in the region before an anticipated Israeli invasion.
The appearance on The CBS Morning Show “Face the Nation,” Mr. DeSantisThe Florida Governor doubled down on He had earlier made remarks in Iowa in which he advocated a hardline opposition to helping civilians thrown into the middle of a conflict.
“They teach kids to hate Jews,” He said. “The textbooks do not have Israel even on the map. They prepare very young kids to commit terrorist attacks. So I think it’s a toxic culture.”
Ms. HaleyIn a CNN interview,, the former United Nations Ambassador under President Donald J. Trump rebutted that view on Sunday with Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
“America has always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists,” After being shown a short clip of Mr. DeSantis’s initial comments on Saturday.
Nearly 1 million people face food and clean water shortages and shelter in GazaThis is a bracing for Israel’s invasion of the West Bank in retaliation for The Oct. 7 Attacks and Hamas is a militant group with Iran’s support.
Mr. DeSantis argued on Sunday, it would be detrimental for the United States “import” Refugees in large numbers and He would be fueling antisemitism by echoing the comments he made in Gaza The day prior to that, the matter attracted attention.
At a campaign event on Saturday, Mr. DeSantis said, “If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist.”
He added that: “The Arab states should be taking them. If you have refugees, you don’t fly people in and take them into the United States of America.”
Margaret Brennan, a CBS anchor, pointed Mr. DeSantis Arabs are Semites and He stood by his words when he repeated his remarks.
“There was a lot of celebrating of those attacks in the Gaza Strip by a lot of those folks who were not Hamas,” He said.
Ms. Brennan stated that it was possible that refugees from Gaza They could not leave their immediate area and resettle in America. Republicans have still used the wider conflict as a frame to shape their positions. on Military action and humanitarian aid.
Tom Tiffany (Wisconsin) is a member of the House. and Andy Ogles and Andy Ogles, both Republicans from Tennessee, have announced their intention to run for office. plan to introduce a bill According to them, the Biden administration will not issue visas for Palestinian passport holders.
Mr. DeSantis, who served in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps in Iraq, was also asked whether he would advise the Israeli military to stop its attacks on The infrastructure that supplies water and Electricity Gaza.
“I don’t think they’re under an obligation to be providing water and these utilities while the hostages are being held,” He said.
Ms. Haley Before, I had struck a chord of sympathy on Sunday’s statement that large percentages Palestinians and Iranians do not support violence against each other.
“There are so many of these people who want to be free from this terrorist rule,” She said
While the Republican candidates have expressed solidarity with Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks, they have also clashed with one another over who is most loyal to Israel, America’s closest Middle East ally, and What is the proper role for the United States in international conflicts?
Ms. Haley on Sunday continued to criticize Mr. Trump, his former boss and The Republican front-runner for Referring to Hezbollah as the militant group supported by Iran “very smart” while criticizing Israel’s prime minister and Israeli intelligence. She said that Mr. Trump had emboldened U.S. enemies. and Drawing attention to yourself
“You don’t go and compliment any of them because what that does is that makes America look weak,” She said on CNN, adding: “This isn’t about Trump. It’s not about him.”
A spokesperson for The Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry for Comment on Sunday.
Ms. Haley Biden received new criticism, claiming that he shouldn’t have released $6 billion in oil revenue money that had been frozen. for Iran for As part of the hostage-release deal announced in August, humanitarian purposes were included.
Facing blowback over the money’s release, the Biden administration and Qatar agreed last Thursday to deny Iran the access to funds that White House officials claimed had not been used.
“You empowered Iran to go and strengthen Hamas, strengthen Hezbollah, strengthen the Houthis to spread their terrorist activity,” Ms. Haley said.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry for Comment on Sunday.
Haley Johnson Contributed reporting from Creston (Iowa)
