Rubio says U.S. must help Israel, prevent Hamas from becoming ‘dominant Palestinian group’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voiced why he believes the United States should support Israel in order to prevent Hamas from being the “dominant Palestinian group” in the region.
“They want to be the dominant faction for Palestinians,” Rubio said on a Fox News interview.
Rubio said Hamas’ taking of hostages, violence and brutality “increases their prestige” as the “most effective” anti-Israel Palestinian group in the Middle East.
”I think it’s clearly important that they be destroyed, and that Israel does everything they can to destroy them,” he said.
Rubio urged the Biden administration not to link further Israel aid with other policy matters, such as Ukraine in a press release.
“We cannot allow partisan politics to delay us or prevent us from providing Israel the military assistance they will need to wipe this terrorist group out,” he said in the statement.
Rubio’s comments came after Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer assured Israeli’s that the chamber would rush through military aid to Israel.
“We will work to move this aid through the Senate ASAP, and the Israeli leaders made it clear to us they need the aid quickly,” Schumer said.
“Unlike Hamas, civilized democracies, like the U.S. and like Israel must hold themselves to a higher standard … we echoed that to the prime minister of Israel and to every Israeli official we met,” he said.
Schumer also said that the Senate will move forward as fast possible with the legislation even though the House is in a state of “dysfunction.”
Several people, such as Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., have voiced concerns that the House is unable to provide aid to Israel without a speaker.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., responded to these concerns on Meet the Press by explaining how aid to Israel will not be affected by the ongoing House speakers race that has delayed the passing of legislation.
“The reason we have this multibillion-dollar commitment each and every year to Israel is because we want Israel to have a qualitative military edge over everyone in the region,” he said. “They have that edge.”
“I’m very concerned about what Hezbollah might do, what Lebanon might do there to try to create more instability,” Gaetz added. “But there is no ask from Israel that we are unable to meet because it’s going to take us a few days to pick a new speaker.”
Israel currently receives $3.8 billion in foreign aid each year from the U.S.
Most of the aid, $3.3 billion, is specifically for the military, while the remaining $500 million goes towards the nation’s missile defense system. The U.S. stopped providing economic aid to Israel after 2020.
