Sen. Marsha Blackburn Tuesday called for an end to U.S. humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying such aid repeatedly falls into the hands of Hamas terrorists.
"The USA should not be placing conditions on our support for Israel because of demands from the ‘Squad,'" the Tennessee Republican said in a statement issued after reporting from The Washington Post on X, formerly Twitter, indicated that the news of President Joe Biden's upcoming trip to Israel came only after the county agreed to develop a humanitarian aid plan for Gaza.
"Humanitarian aid repeatedly ends up in the hands of Hamas terrorists who use it to build rockets and kill more Israelis," Blackburn said in her statement. "We should immediately halt U.S. aid for the Palestinians."
Blackburn on Tuesday also led a contingent of Republican senators in demanding that Biden issue a formal decision to freeze the $6 billion in assets that was released to Iran in the weeks before the war started in Israel.
"We know that Iran bankrolls Hamas, yet it is perplexing why this administration refuses to issue a formal decision to freeze the $6 billion," the senator said. "We need to ensure that not another dollar goes to Iran, even when the media attention on this issue with Israel dissipates."
She added that Biden's trip was "intentionally not announced until Secretary [Antony] Blinken got assurances on Netanyahu" about a Palestinian humanitarian aid package.
"The administration knew sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Palestinians could bolster Hamas. Yet President Biden has sent them over $730 million in aid since taking office via the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees," said Blackburn. "We learned Hamas stole aid from that group."
Blackburn further announced that she would introduce legislation to halt all funding for Iran until it is expelled from the United Nations and investigated for violations.
"Americans should also be concerned about our own vulnerabilities resulting from President Biden's open border policies," said Blackburn. "As long as Biden allows our border to be open, an attack on our own soil isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when. Protecting our homeland and preventing Hamas sympathizers from entering our country is paramount."
Hamas' actions must not go unpunished, she added.
"Thirty American citizens are dead," she said. "Women were raped, paraded through the streets, and murdered … we must freeze the ransom payment to Iran. We must halt taxpayer dollars going to the Palestinians and we must secure our own southern border and we must stand with Israel."
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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