Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Monday criticized former President Trump\u2019s recent comments attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as \u2018terrible and not helpful\u2019 amid Hamas\u2019 terrorist attacks against the Jewish State.<\/p>\n
Scott, a presidential candidate seeking the Republican nomination in 2024, made the comments about his GOP primary opponent\u2019s remarks during an event hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service and The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
\u2018We should be loyal to our allies while being lethal to our adversaries. Anything less than that jeopardizes life,\u2019 the South Carolina Republican said.<\/p>\n
More than 4,200 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its\u00a0Oct. 7 attack, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.<\/p>\n
Trump blasted Netanyahu during a speech on Wednesday, saying the Israeli prime minister \u2018let us down\u2019 shortly before the U.S. military assassinated top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in early 2020. The Republican front-runner also suggested that Netanyahu\u2019s conversations with the Biden administration helped Hezbollah, a terror group Israel fears may launch an attack from the country\u2019s north.<\/p>\n
The former president also said Israel\u2019s intelligence agencies needed to \u2018step up their game\u2019 for not detecting Hamas\u2019 attack, and he referred to Hezbollah as \u2018very smart.\u2019<\/p>\n
On Friday, Trump changed his tune regarding the Israeli prime minister after backlash from fellow Republicans. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he stands with Israel and Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
Scott, meanwhile, offered high praise to Netanyahu for displaying \u2018passion\u2019 and \u2018humanity\u2019 when responding to Hamas\u2019 largest attack against Israel in decades.<\/p>\n
\u2018One of the first things that Israel\u2019s done is they waited,\u2019 Scott said. \u2018Now how Prime Minister Netanyahu had the kind of restraint to refrain from immediate action, it just talks about the morality and the humanity that we see coming from Netanyahu into Gaza.\u2019<\/p>\n
The senator also spoke on whether the U.S. should accept Palestinian refugees. Scott said he does not believe it is the right move to take in the refugees because the Biden administration will not be able to determine \u2018who is safe to bring in, who\u2019s not safe to bring in.\u2019<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s comments about Palestinian refugees mirror statements from other Republicans, including presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t know what Biden\u2019s gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees,\u2019 DeSantis said during a campaign stop in Iowa. \u2018I am not going to do that. If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic. None of them believe in Israel\u2019s right to exist.\u2019<\/p>\n
Additionally, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the Biden administration should rescind visas of foreign nationals who defend or support Hamas and Sen. Tom Cotton, R. Ark., urged the Department of Homeland Security to deport foreign nationals, including those on student visas, who have expressed support for Hamas in the wake of the terror attack on Israel.<\/p>\n
\u2018The appalling explosion of anti-Semitism in the United States over the past few weeks should disturb anyone who shares American values,\u2019 Cotton said. \u2018While American citizens may have a First Amendment right to speak disgusting vitriol if they so choose, no foreign national has a right to advocate for terrorism in the United States.\u2019<\/p>\n