David Friedman, former US ambassador to Israel, was reacting to an “embarrassing” gaffe of Joe Biden after the president confused the Israeli port of Haifa with the last refuge for civilians in the Gaza Strip, Rafah
Joe Biden is facing fresh questions and criticism online relating to his age and mental state, including from a former US Ambassador who believes Israel “should accommodate Joe Biden ‘s demand”, after the president made an “embarrassing” Haifa slip-up.
The 81-year-old President made an “embarrassing” gaffe during an interview after he was probed on whether he had a plan to win back Palestine voters who have abandoned the Democrats amid the ongoing war in Israel. But during his answer, Biden mixed up the Israeli port city of Haifa with the Gaza Strip’s last civilian refuge – Rafah.
“I’ve been meeting with them, number one,” President Biden said. “Number two, I made it clear that we have to vastly increase the amount of food, water, and healthcare going into Gaza.”
( Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
“And I made it clear to Israelis – don’t move on Haifa,” he added, apparently meaning to say Rafah. “It’s just not, I mean, anyway,” Biden added, appearing confused.
It led to several commentators expressing their concern for Biden including former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman who wrote: “I think Israel should accommodate Biden’s demand not to attack Haifa. But not Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah.”
Social media users also weighed in on the concerning mix-up with one writing: ‘”Who still pushes this man to remain in power and what are their intentions?” Another added: “President Biden should not be allowed to publicly embarrass himself”, and “America is abusing this senior citizen’.”
Meanwhile, former New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind tweeted: “Think there’s strong likelihood Israel refrains from hitting Haifa,” before adding the gaffe was “seriously embarrassing.”
In the last few weeks, Rafah has become crucial in Israel’s efforts to free Hamas-held hostages and get rid of the terrorist group’s presence in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that “no force in the world ” will prevent the Israeli Defence Forces from advancing into Rafa, which now houses over 1 million Palestinians.
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