[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we have heard some concerning statements on 
Israel in recent days from leading Democrats.
  Last Thursday, the Democratic leader came to the floor to deliver a 
speech in which he took the extraordinary step of calling for a regime 
change in Israel. That is right. The Democratic leader of the U.S. 
Senate, who has, in the past, fiercely decried the prospect of foreign 
interference in U.S. elections, decided to insert himself into the 
internal electoral politics of a sovereign nation and a close U.S. 
ally. It was an incredibly troubling moment.
  As I said, it wasn't the only troubling statement lately from a 
Democrat leader. The President has also recently inserted himself into 
Israeli decision making by criticizing Israel's war plan and saying it 
would be a ``red line'' for Israel to go after Hamas strongholds in 
Rafah on the southern border of Gaza--in effect telling Israel that 
Hamas should be allowed to continue to hold this region.
  Both the President and the Democrat leader are entitled to their 
personal strategic opinions and their personal opinions on Israel's 
leadership. What they are not entitled to is to attempt to dictate the 
election process or the strategic planning of a sovereign nation.
  There would be justifiable outrage if one of our allies attempted to 
dictate to our country when we should hold elections and whom we should 
choose to lead us. It is equally offensive for U.S. leaders to attempt 
to dictate war planning or election outcomes to one of our allies.
  I also have to wonder where the similar statements are on, for 
example, Iran. Iran has been fomenting terror across the Middle East 
for decades--Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, 
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and, of course, Hamas.
  Hamas gets approximately 90 percent of its military budget from Iran. 
There is reason to wonder whether Hamas would even have had the 
capability to carry out its October 7 attack without its history of 
support from Iran. There is certainly reason to wonder what the Middle 
East would look like today if Iran hadn't spent decades funding and 
arming terrorist organizations.
  Yet, in his entire State of the Union Address, the President 
mentioned Iran only once. The same goes for last week's speech from the 
Democrat leader. Where are the redlines for Iran, the calls for regime 
change? For that matter, where are the redlines for Hamas? Because, 
let's remember, that is how we ended up here. Israel didn't attack 
Hamas; Hamas attacked Israel.
  President Biden himself has noted that October 7's brutal attack 
against Israeli civilians was the deadliest day for the Jewish people 
literally since the Holocaust. More than 1,100 individuals were killed. 
More than 240 hostages were taken, and 130 of those hostages still--
still--remain in Gaza, including 5 American citizens. This was not a 
war of Israel's making; the current war is the responsibility of Hamas.
  Hamas has pulled its own citizens into the war zone because that is 
what they do. It has woven its terrorist infrastructure all through 
Gaza so that its fighters can easily slip into and outright hide behind 
the civilian population. The Israeli military has continued to discover 
Hamas tunnels networked beneath schools, hospitals, and the United 
Nations' headquarters in Gaza, UNRWA. The lives of its own citizens 
seem to mean as little to Hamas as do the lives of Israelis.
  The world has seen the evil of Hamas and its indifference to life, 
and that is precisely why Israel must succeed in removing the threat of 
Hamas from its borders.
  When Democrats do things like set redlines around an offensive 
operation into Rafah, they are supporting the conditions that will 
perpetuate this terror. No other nation would accept this threat just 
miles over its border, and we must not ask our longstanding ally Israel 
to make such a dangerous exception.
  I hope and pray that Israel will succeed in permanently disabling 
Hamas and paving the way to a more peaceful future for Israelis and--
and--for Palestinians.
  In an age in which the Democratic Party is increasingly surrendering 
to its most extreme-left wing, perhaps the President and the Democrat 
leader's comments should not have been unexpected, but, expected or 
not, they were inappropriate and troubling.
  There is an old adage that when you find yourself in a hole, stop 
digging. Yet Democrats are out with a letter this morning that sets 
forth a new laundry list of conditions for Israel to meet.
  Our focus should be on supporting our ally Israel and working for a 
future where both Israelis and Palestinians can live free from terror 
like Hamas's, and that requires clear-eyed focus on the task at hand of 
helping our allies defeat these terrorists, bring the hostages home, 
and restore peace.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). The Senator from Alabama.