North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Thursday accused President Biden of negotiating on behalf of "terrorists" after he threatened to withhold weapon shipments to Israel if it proceeds with its planned invasion of Rafah.
In an interview with CNN that aired Wednesday, Biden said, "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs" and that he has made clear to Israel "if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem."
MANY ISRAELIS FEEL ‘BETRAYED’ FOLLOWING BIDEN THREAT TO WITHHOLD ARMS TO DEFEAT HAMAS IN RAFAH
Burgum tore into Biden during an appearance Thursday on "America's Newsroom." He called the president's shift in policy "truly unbelievable" while emphasizing Biden's apparent readiness to abandon "America's top ally" as it prepares for a ground invasion into Hamas' last stronghold in Gaza.
"We're in completely new territory here for a president of the United States because we’ve always had a rule, which is don’t negotiate with terrorists, but Joe Biden has gone beyond that — he's actually negotiating for the terrorists," Burgum said.
"He's put a red line for Israel, for our ally, and when you think about that, think of every one of our allies around the world watching this and going, ‘Wow, Israel is supposed to be America’s top ally and the president is threatening them?’"
Earlier this week, Israeli officials claimed the United States had paused a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition, as Axios reported. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre maintained that the U.S. commitment to Israel is "ironclad," but the report was ultimately confirmed by a U.S. official who said the administration paused shipments of two types of precision bombs to Israel.
One shipment would provide 2,000-pound bombs, with 1,800 to be delivered. The second held 500-pound bombs, with 1,700 to be delivered.
Burgum said Biden appears to be back-peddling from his ironclad commitment to the Jewish state to appease the "pro-Hamas part of the Democrat Party."
"How about Joe Biden saying we’ll keep providing weapons until you release the hostages, Hamas?" Burgum asked. "He should be negotiating alongside of Israel. He is on the opposite side of the table."
"I can tell you that if President Trump was in office right now, this would not be happening," he added. "This is Joe Biden’s weakness on display like it was with Afghanistan, like it's been around the world."
Biden's high-stakes ultimatum for Israel prompted a flurry of backlash from Republicans and some moderate Democrats. Several GOP lawmakers voiced support for impeaching Biden over the decision, arguing there are parallels to Trump's withholding of weapons aid to Ukraine in exchange for announcing an investigation into the Biden family.
Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., began drafting impeachment articles against the president, Fox News Digital reported Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel "will stand alone" to defeat Hamas, if necessary.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
