‘That’s Not What I Asked’: Fox’s Cavuto Presses Democratic Senator on Whether His Party ‘Is Turning On Israel’
Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto pressed Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on whether the Democratic party is “turning on Israel” after President Joe Biden’s latest call with Benjamin Netanyahu.
The commander-in-chief spoke this week by phone to the Israeli prime minister, where he demanded that Israel do more to mitigate civilian deaths and attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza.
Since the discussion, the Israeli government opened three humanitarian aid corridors. Moreover, Israel’s military dismissed senior officers involved in Tuesday’s airstrikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza.
Coons joined Cavuto for an interview on Friday where he reacted to Biden’s call with Netanyahu. The Fox anchor pressed Coons on whether he would support cutting aid to Israel if the country decided to launch a ground invasion in Rafah, a city located in southern Gaza.
The Delaware lawmaker defended the Biden administration’s recent actions toward Israel, claiming the president would provide financial and military support to them if Iran attacked the country.
Coons then noted however that he would prefer if Israel did not launch airstrikes on Rafah without providing a chance for civilians to relocate:
CAVUTO: Senator, what if they do? And you’re quite right. We’ve always, you know, in this long decades-long relationship with a Republican-Democratic administration, you know, had forceful viewpoints and challenges to the Israelis. We’ve never once cut aid in that process. If the Israelis were to go into Rafah, as Benjamin Netanyahu seems to want to do still. Are you saying or would you recommend that is a game changer…In other words, would you then say…you’ve gone too far? We’re going to cut aid.
COONS: Look, I would not abandon abandon Israel. I would not abandon the defense of Israel against their enemies in the region, particularly in the face of an imminent strike by Iran against Israel-
CAVUTO: With all respect, sir. That’s not what I would asked. If they go into Rafah and do this, would you say, that’s a game changer, Israel, we told you not to do it. And you did.
COONS: I would be willing to put conditions on the delivery of military munitions for that ongoing campaign. I would not sever ties between the United States and Israel. I wouldn’t abandon Israel, but I would begin to condition the munitions that we provide for an ongoing campaign in Rafah.
CAVUTO: Is the Democratic Party turning on Israel?
COONS: I don’t think so. And I frankly, I don’t speak for the Democratic Party as a whole. I speak for myself as a senator from Delaware. And I think that we have been and will continue to be strong partners and allies with Israel and the Israeli people. But there are good reasons to question the wisdom of the tactical decisions being made by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The decision to not allow humanitarian aid in at scale, which now seems to be changing, and the decision to not put at the forefront negotiating for the release of hostages, but instead the continuation of the war at all costs. So, please understand, I think this is a tactical difference between the United States and Israel over the conduct of the war against Hamas in the south of Gaza. Not a fundamental change in our ongoing relationship.
Watch the clip above via Fox News.
