On the night of 19-20 October, US President Joe Biden delivered a speech on the war in Ukraine and Israel.
Joe Biden announced an urgent budget request to Congress for Ukraine and Israel.
In his video address, Joe Biden explained what Russian President Vladimir Putin and the terrorist group from Gaza Hamas have in common.
The US President compared the events this month in Israel to nearly 20 months of Russia’s war in Ukraine. He accused both Hamas and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of wanting to “annihilate a neighbouring democracy” but noted that they “represent different threats.”
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighbouring democracy, completely annihilate it. Hamas has declared its goal to destroy Israel and kill Israelis. Meanwhile, Putin denies that Ukraine has a right to statehood. He claims that the USSR created Ukraine”.
The US president said that support for both wars in Israel and Ukraine is “vital for America’s national security.” Biden warned, more broadly, that US adversaries and competitors “are watching.”
Joe Biden directly appealed to Americans for US support in the wars in Israel and Ukraine and announced he would send an aid package to Congress.
The American President announced he would submit to Congress an “urgent budget request” for extra funding to help Israel and Ukraine, among other national security priorities. Mr Biden did not disclose the amount but called it unprecedented.
“We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win. I refuse to let that happen”.
The President’s address took place on the eve of the White House requesting north of $100 billion from Congress to deliver aid and resources to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the US border with Mexico.
On 18 October, Biden arrived in Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Joe Biden, the IDF did not attack the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Israel claims the rocket was “misfired” by Islamists, while Palestinians blame Israel.
In a recent CNN poll, nearly all respondents were sympathetic to the Israeli people following the savage attack launched by Hamas. Still, there was no consensus on the level of US involvement. 35% said the US provides the right amount of assistance, and 36% were unsure whether the level of US assistance is appropriate. The US has long provided security assistance to Israel, which receives roughly $4 billion annually under a 10-year memorandum of understanding. The new proposal would provide billions more.
Meanwhile, support to maintain aid to Ukraine has weakened since Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February 2022. An August CNN poll found 55% of respondents said Congress should not pass more funding to aid Ukraine. Nearly three-quarters of Republicans opposed more funding for Ukraine, but 62% of Democrats supported it.
Since Russia’s invasion, the White House and Congress have provided more than $75 billion in funding to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The US President said he is confident that if Putin is allowed to erase Ukraine’s independence, any aggressors worldwide will want to do the same. Joe Biden also pointed out that the Russian dictator is threatening Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, US allies and NATO members, all former Soviet republics, and all threatened by Kremlin war propagandists.
