(ConservativeSense.com) – Presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on his hardline position that the United States should not be sending humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip for Palestinians, and fellow GOP candidate Nikki Haley is joining him and other GOP candidates on that front.
During an appearance on Fox News Digital last Tuesday, DeSantis was asked about the recently approved $100 million aid package for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The Florida governor said President Joe Biden and his administration “were wrong” for sending “humanitarian aid to Hamas,” which he said will be used “for terrorism.”
Three weeks ago, Hamas launched a coordinated attack on Israel, allegedly killing over 1,000 and taking a couple hundred hostages back into Gaza. Israel retaliated by laying siege to the Palestinian territory, killing thousands more. DeSantis said that sending humanitarian aid into the region shouldn’t even be discussed before the hostages are released as “a precondition.”
Biden announced the package last week and said the humanitarian aid would assist “over a million” Palestinians displaced and affected by the conflict, providing medical care, food, clean water, and other essentials. He said the US provides aid through partners such as the United Nations “and international NGOs.”
Besides DeSantis, other GOP presidential candidates have criticized Biden for the aid package, which they argue will only end up assisting the radical militant group Hamas, including former President Donald Trump and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. The latest voice to join them is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
According to a campaign spokesperson, Haley “opposes taxpayer dollars” going to Gaza, which she feels “is too easily diverted to Hamas” rather than helping the people in need. She also called on other Arab nations to “step up” and help the Palestinian people. Last Monday on Fox News, the former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador reiterated the position that “no more money” should go “to countries that hate America.”
Currently, Haley is in third place in the Republican primary polls, coming in at 7.9%. DeSantis remains in second place at 15.1%, while Trump is leagues ahead of every other candidate at 57.6%.
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