Biden vs. Trump: Where they stand on Israel, Palestinians, Middle East
LA TimesThe Israel-Hamas war has thrust Israel and Palestinians back on the front burner of United States policy, and abruptly injected some long-standing divisive issues into the 2024 presidential race. With mounting international condemnation over an Israeli military response that has left more than 37,000 Palestinians dead, critics say that the Biden administration hasn’t done enough to restrain Israel. “You gotta get it done.” Trump accused Biden of “abandoning” Israel when the administration briefly suspended the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as Israel threatened to move into the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Settlements The Biden administration has revived long-standing U.S. policy that the Jewish settlements Israel erects in the West Bank are an impediment to peace. Trump Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said in 2019 that contrary to decades of U.S. policy, the Jewish settlements built in the West Bank and other territory claimed by the Palestinians were “not inconsistent with international law.” Avigail, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.