In what can only be considered a shocking betrayal of our closest ally in the Middle East, the Biden administration refused this week to veto a UN resolution demanding an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution didn’t even call for Hamas to release its hostages (who include Americans) as a condition of the ceasefire. Hamas correctly saw it as a victory in its worldwide propaganda campaign to convince people that the Israelis are the terrorists committing genocide, and not them.

A Victory for Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Biden’s refusal to protect Israel “a clear retreat from the consistent position of the United States at the Security Council since the beginning of the war.” He said this resolution “hurts both the war effort and the effort to release the abductees” and “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to accept a ceasefire without the release of our abductees.”

Proving he’s correct, Israel had agreed to release up to 800 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 convicted murderers, just to get Hamas to release 40 hostages. It was a terrible deal that Netanyahu’s coalition had previously deemed “unrealistic.” But Hamas toughened their demands after the UN vote, and Biden’s betrayal showed them how well holding onto their hostages is working. In response, Israel pulled its negotiators out of hostage talks in Qatar.

Refusing to Stand By Israel

Through his weakness, Biden has encouraged hostile actors around the world to act with even more aggression, including the October 7 massacre of Israeli citizens by Hamas. Now, he’s pressuring one of our few remaining staunch allies to stop fighting to eradicate a group of genocidal, antisemitic terrorists who raped, tortured, and slaughtered their people because he’d rather pander to the Hamas-supporting, radical nuts in his base during an election year than stand by Israel. The kindest terms I can apply to that are “shameful” and “disgusting.”

On a side note, as Democrats are trying to eliminate sending arms to Israel to prevent them from going into Rafah to finish off Hamas, Vice President Kamala Harris repeated the false narrative that the poor Palestinians have nowhere to go to escape the fighting. First of all, Israel has gone far beyond what any other nation aside from the U.S. has ever done to try to protect innocent civilians. by warning them when they are going to launch an attack It’s not their fault that Hamas hides among and behind civilians, many of whom support their genocide against Israel and lets them. Second, they have somewhere they could go, but Egypt, which is right next door, refuses to let them in because they know what will happen if they do.

For the record, here are Donald Trump’s comments on the situation. I agree with much of it, but I have to part ways with him on what he thinks Israel’s biggest mistake was, because I think Hamas left them no alternative. As for Israel not finishing up the war quickly enough, that’s not something it can control when the enemy holds hostages it refuses to surrender, is protected by a civilian population, useful idiots who side with the terrorists and so-called “allies” are holding mass protests on our own shores.

Mike Huckabee is a former governor of Arkansas and longtime conservative commentator on issues in culture and current events. A New York Times bestselling author, he hosts the weekly talk show Huckabee on TBN.

Originally published at MikeHuckabee.com. Reprinted with permission.