Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) expressed his belief on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the United States should support Israel in completing the task of defeating Hamas. Vance criticized the Biden administration for what he sees as a contradictory policy of expressing concern for Palestinian casualties while simultaneously withholding precision guided weapons that could reduce civilian deaths. He emphasized the need to defeat Hamas as a military organization in order to address the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties, attributing this to Hamas using civilians as shields.
Vance argued that allowing Israel to finish the job with Hamas is crucial for establishing stronger relationships with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states in the Middle East. He asserted that failure to do so would undermine trust in Israel’s commitment to their own national security. Vance sees empowering Israel to defeat Hamas as a step towards a new era in the Middle East.
