WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis stated the United States must no longer take in any Palestinian refugees in the event that they flee the Gaza Strip because they “are all antisemitic” and he dismissed international entreaties for Israel to provide clean running water and utilities to the 2.3 million civilians in the territory.
DeSantis’ comments were a striking departure from the pubic stand taken by U.S. officials, including some of his fellow Republicans, who draw distinctions between the aims of the Palestinian people and those of Hamas. The militant group has ruled has Gaza since 2007 and launched an attack against Israel last weekend.
DeSantis’ endorsement of such tactics comes as he has advocated hard-line policies as a White House candidate. He suggested that not providing water or other services would persuade Hamas to release the hostages it has taken during its incursion.
“You have Israelis being held hostage, as well as Americans being held hostage, but I don’t think they are under an obligation to be providing water and these utilities while those hostages are being held. Hamas should return those hostages before any discussions are had,” DeSantis advised CBS’s “Face The Nation.”
The United Nations, aid groups and Israeli human rights groups have beseeched Israel to allow water and emergency deliveries of fuel to flow into the Gaza Strip. Medics in the region are warning that thousands could die as hospitals run low on fuel and other basic supplies, and desperate Palestinians are trying to escape northern Gaza before a potentisal Israeli ground campaign.
The war has already claimed greater than 3,600 lives.
DeSantis’ comments underscored how the Florida governor is embracing hard-right rhetoric as he tries to gain ground on former President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination.
DeSantis first prompt the U.S. must no longer settle for refugees from Gaza whilst talking at a marketing campaign tournament in Iowa on Saturday and argued that they “are all antisemitic.”
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, a GOP candidate, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “there are so many of these people who want to be free from this terrorist rule. They want to be free from all of that. And America’s always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists. And that’s what we have to do.”
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog, additionally drew distinctions between the Palestinian other people and Hamas. “Our enemy is Hamas. It’s not the Palestinian people. It’s not the innocent civilians,” he stated on CNN.
DeSantis defended his remarks all over the TV interview, suggesting that Hamas’ rule of Gaza — antagonistic by means of many Palestinians — supposed none must be permitted as refugees into the U.S.
“The U.S. should not be absorbing any of those. I think the culture — so they elected Hamas, let’s just be clear about that. Not everyone’s a member of Hamas, most probably aren’t. But they did elect Hamas,” he stated of other people in Gaza.
He described what he stated is “a toxic culture” in Gaza. “I think if we were to import large numbers of those to the United States, I think it would increase antisemitism in this country, and I think it would increase anti-Americanism in this country,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis has been keen to turn he is been targeted at the battle because the Israel-Hamas battle began. Last week, he signed an government order for the Florida Division of Emergency Management to constitution flights for Florida citizens stranded in Israel all over the battle, in addition to ship provides to Israel.