Hamas praises Biden’s new approach to Israel

The U.S. government has brought Israel and the terrorist group Hamas together on a common issue: Both sides now agree that President Joe Biden has shifted his policy towards America’s Jewish ally.

Israel criticized and Hamas praised the U.S. abstention from a United Nations Security Council vote on Monday that called for a cease-fire without demanding the release of remaining hostages. Despite the U.S. stating that the resolution is non-binding, experts argue otherwise.

As a result, Hamas, the terrorist organization in control of Gaza, is now feeling more empowered to not engage in hostage negotiations.

“There are clear changes in the policy of the American administration towards Israel,” stated Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad to Newsweek. “This may be a result of the aggressive actions of Israel, which involve genocide, civilian casualties, and starvation.

“The U.S. has realized that Israel’s actions are putting it in a difficult position internationally and it cannot justify the harm caused to civilians. America also sees that Israel is not making progress towards its goals.”

Following the U.S.’ decision not to veto the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned high-level visit to Washington, D.C.

“The United States has abandoned its stance in the U.N. today,” Netanyahu stated in a release from his office.

A senior scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C. echoed this sentiment, saying, “An abstention essentially amounts to a yes vote from a UN Security Council permanent member, as it indicates agreement with the resolution text, even if unwilling to explicitly state so,” told CNBC.

The main criticism from Israel is that the U.S. indirectly supported a resolution that doesn’t require Hamas to release hostages.

“The resolution separates the demands for a cease-fire and for the release of hostages, rather than conditioning the cease-fire on the hostages being released,” explained Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Now, the world is expecting Israel to comply with a U.N. resolution, which Hamas would likely disregard if the vote had gone differently.

Following the vote, Hamas terrorists praised the resolution, rejected the hostage deal, continued to hold hostages, and launched more attacks on Israeli civilians,” posted Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan on X. “Did you really expect radical extremists to be moved by a Security Council resolution?”

They are certainly moved now.

“America made a significant mistake by enabling and supporting Israel in its crimes and providing it with all kinds of assistance, but failing to exert enough pressure to stop the war,” Hamad told Newsweek. “We believe America can compel Israel to cease the conflict.”