GOP's Blackburn calls Israel 'a shining beacon of democracy'
Greg Palkot: 'I've never seen anything like this'
FOX News senior foreign affairs correspondent reports from Jerusalem on the escalating rocket fire as Israel clashes with Hamas.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is taking a firm stance on supporting Israel in its defense against Hamas militant terrorist attacks and called for the U.S. to send weapons to the nation in a recent letter sent to President Biden.
The Republican senator slammed the administration’s Office of Palestinian Affairs for initially calling for "all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks" in a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"So far, the administration’s response has been far weaker than Israel — a shining beacon of democracy and our most important ally in the Middle East — deserves," Blackburn wrote.
Blackburn urged the federal government to "provide all weapons and munitions necessary."
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Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote a scathing letter to President Biden, criticizing his response to Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
"The failures of this administration on the world stage have no doubt emboldened those who would wish America and our allies harm," she wrote.
After the attacks on Saturday, Biden said to reporters, "The United States stands with Israel" and that the government would support them in any way in their defense.
With the upper chamber on official recess until next week and the House slated to vote in a new speaker in the coming weeks, Blackburn said in the meantime the Senate needs to keep pressure on the administration.
"During this week while not in D.C., what we should do is support this letter that will encourage the administration to rescind this deal of $6 billion," Blackburn told Fox News Digital in an interview. "You cannot participate in this kind of attack and then be rewarded for those actions."
LIVE UPDATES: HAMAS ATTACKS ON ISRAEL
Israeli forces recaptured areas near the Gaza Strip that had been overrun in a Hamas mass-infiltration over the weekend.
"There are some things that we should be doing to bolster the admin to be more definitive in their support of Israel," Blackburn said. "And for [Secretary of State] Antony Blinken to try to say the release of the $6 billion had nothing to do with this — what we do know is that when you take these actions that seem to be appeasing actions, it leads to the perception of weakness, and when you have that perception of weakness, it emboldens your enemies."
The $6 billion deal in exchange for American prisoners captive in Iran, which was reached last month, allowed the transfer of Iran's frozen assets held in a South Korean bank to accounts in Qatar. Blinken said the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes and the U.S. will have oversight as to how and when the funds are used.
President Biden walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
However, Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that they had Iran’s support for the attacks, which began Saturday. A bombshell Wall Street Journal report Sunday said Hamas and Hezbollah helped Iran plan the attack.
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Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
