By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau with Agency Reports
Apparently to show solidarity in the face of war, the United States (US) President, Joe Biden is backing Israel in its onslaught against Palestinians even as he blames the Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip for the recent bomb attack that killed more than 500 people at a hospital in the capital and left hundreds more wounded in the troubled enclave.
Biden, who landed in the in Israel capital, Tel Aviv Wednesday on a solidarity visit following Hamas attacks, under the shadow of a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital that has inflamed regional tensions, maintained that Hamas, must bear the full brunt of the blame for attacking Israel first, adding that Jerusalem, had the right to defend itself.
In a warm embrace of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, who personally welcomed him on the tarmac, the two leaders, displaying some measure of warmth, the US President, said: “I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”
Biden whose meeting and solidarity with the Tel Aviv is being condemned by Muslims across the world including Nigeria, where the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), is calling on President Bola Tinubu to condemn the Israeli attack and back the Palestinians, at the commencement of a meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, stated: “There’s a of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of thing. We have to bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and has brought them only suffering.”
Biden, whom an earlier announcement by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said had struck an agreement with his Israeli counterpart to work on a plan to let aid into Gaza, said he was encouraging Netanyahu to ensure “life-saving capacity to help the Palestinians who are innocent and caught in the middle of this.”
Stating that he was proud to visit the country, currently readying its ground forces to storm the Palestinian city, added: “I want to say to the people of Israel — their courage, their commitment and their bravery is stunning,” Biden said. READ ALSO:
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On his part, Netanyahu, told his visitor: “There’s only one thing better than having a true friend like you standing with Israel and that is having you standing in Israel,” while calling for global unity against Hamas.
“Just as the civilised world united to defeat the Nazis and united to defeat ISIS, the civilised world must unite and defeat Hamas. I can assure you, Mr. President, Israel is united to defeat Hamas and we will defeat Hamas and remove this terrible threat,” he said.
