Amid a diplomatic divide between the Joe Biden administration and the Israeli government as the war with Hamas rages, a Florida Senator is practicing some diplomacy of his own.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. This was Scott's first visit to the country since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7. He last went in the Summer of 2023.
The PM "thanked him for visiting Jerusalem and for his unwavering support for the State of Israel, especially at this time," per a post from the Israeli PM's social media account on X.
Netanyahu framed Scott's visit in light of the United States not vetoing a United Nations (UN) Security Council vote calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, which he said was "a very, very bad move."
"The worst part about it was that it encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas," Netanyahu said.
The PM also addressed his decision not to send a diplomatic delegation to Washington, D.C., this week as planned.
"My decision not to send the delegation to Washington in the wake of that resolution was a message to Hamas: Don't bet on this pressure, it's not going to work. I hope they got the message."
Scott has been a vocal opponent of the UN resolution.
"I will fight every dime to the UN. Biden and the UN might be too weak to stand up to Iran/Hamas, but I will never be afraid to stand with our greatest ally, Israel. The UN has a long record of siding with dictators and terrorists and our dollars should not fund its nonsense," he posted to social media Tuesday.
On Monday, Scott posted that the White House was "abandoning Israel at the UN to appease the radical Left and get votes from Hamas-sympathizers."
Scott has also condemned Secretary of State Antony Blinken's opposition to Israel's Rafah operation, blasting "continued threats to Israel as it fights against terrorism that wishes to end its existence" as "illegitimate coercion against our ally and the only democracy in the Middle East to appease radical Left Hamas sympathizers."
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