Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Wednesday endorsed GOP nominee Donald Trump for president just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before Congress.
"I believe that with Trump, Israel will receive the backing to act against Iran," Ben Gvir told Bloomberg. "With Trump, it will be clearer that enemies must be defeated."
Ordinarily, leaders from both nations do not become involved in endorsing political candidates in the other countries, reported The Times Of Israel. But in this case, Ben Gvir accused the Biden administration of giving Hamas "lots of energy" in the Gaza war.
"The U.S. has always stood behind Israel in terms of armaments and weapons, yet [during the war in Gaza] the sense was that we were being reckoned with — that we were trying to be prevented from winning," he told Bloomberg. "That happened on [President Joe] Biden's watch and fed Hamas with lots of energy."
Ben Gvir's endorsement came shortly after reports that he suggested delaying a hostage and cease-fire deal with Hamas, as an agreement now would help Biden but hurt Trump, The Times reported.
Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich oppose deals to end fighting before Hamas is eliminated and have threatened to topple the Israeli government if such a deal is reached.
Ben Gvir's Trump endorsement comes before Netanyahu's upcoming meeting with the former president at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday.
Ben Gvir did not directly address Kamala Harris' policies but said the vice president, who has secured enough Democrat delegates to become the party's nominee in the election, will continue Biden's policies.
He also admitted that he could anger his colleagues by endorsing Trump.
"A cabinet minister is supposed to maintain neutrality, but that's impossible to do after Biden," he said.
Earlier this year, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said he'd also vote for Trump if he could because he believes Biden is projecting weakness, The Times reported.
Meanwhile, Ben Gvir criticized Netanyahu's response to Israel's drone and missile strikes on Israel in April.
"Israel should respond to attacks on it in a determined, pain-inflicting manner," he said.
Ben Gvir also said that Israel should enter into full-blown fighting "the sooner the better" with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group, which has been launching attacks on Israeli military outposts and communities at the northern border almost daily since the Hamas attacks last Oct. 8.
Many on the Israeli right praise Trump for his policies while president, mostly for relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing it as Israel's capital.
However, Trump has come under fire over comments at a campaign rally when he referred to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as a "jerk" and Hezbollah as being "very smart."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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