Biden's claim of support for Palestinians is absurd, say activists

Moataz Salim and Hazami Barmada tell The National the US President has not shown concern for the Palestinian community

President Joe Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas on July 16. AP

“I'm the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” President Joe Biden declared in a recent interview.

But Hazami Barmada, a Palestinian-American activist, says Mr Biden is “unbelievably disconnected from reality".

Moataz Salim, another Palestinian-American activist, who has lost more than 100 extended family members since the Gaza war began, says “it's absurd".

In an interview with Speedy Morman of Complex in Michigan, home to the country's largest Arab-American population, Mr Biden made the claim while also insisting on his support for Israel.

“I'm the guy that opened up all the assets,” he said, referring to Washington's work with Egypt on getting aid into Gaza through the country’s previously closed border crossings.

“I have been very supportive of the Palestinians. But Hamas, they’re a bunch of thugs."

Mr Salim has taken part in demonstrations in the halls of the US Congress nearly every day since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza, volunteering with anti-war group CodePink.

“It makes me angry … above all how offensive and insulting those comments are. They're also not entirely untrue,” he told The National.

Ms Barmada has led a pro-ceasefire protest movement in Washington, including camp-outs at Secretary of State Antony Blinken's home and the Israeli embassy.

She has been outside, including in dangerous winter cold and oppressive summer heat, for more than 260 days, by her count, protesting against US support for Israel's war in Gaza.

“It's absolutely appalling that he [Mr Biden] felt the need to even try to act like he was doing anything positive for the Palestinian people," Ms Barmada told The National on Tuesday.

“Biden is so far gone in his support for Israel … It's just really appalling that he felt the need to iterate his support for Zionism, which is the root cause of the violence against Palestinians, during some of the bloodiest times."

Protest organiser Hazami Barmada says she 'wanted to bring [Gaza] up close and personal' to Secretary of State Antony Blinken's home. Ahmed Issawy / The National

The UN said on Tuesday that Gaza has experienced one of the deadliest weeks since the war began, as Israel resumed intense shelling of civilian areas across the enclave.

On Saturday, more than 90 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Al Mawasi, a supposed “safe zone” for civilians, as Israel also launched deadly attacks across other parts of Gaza.

And on Tuesday, Gaza's government media office said at least 23 people had been killed and 73 injured in an attack on the UNRWA-run Al Razi school in Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza.

The Department of Defence last week said that “more than 8,100 tonnes of humanitarian aid have been delivered" through the US-made humanitarian pier on Gaza's coast.

“This represents the largest amount of aid transported by the US military over a three-month period and the largest humanitarian response in the Middle East region,” Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder wrote in a statement.

But Israel's continued siege of the crowded Palestinian enclave, including on the Rafah corridor against Mr Biden's warnings, has largely unfolded with material support from Washington.

Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid since its founding, receiving about $310 billion (adjusted for inflation) in economic and military assistance, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

And in the aftermath of Israel's war on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack, the Biden administration has approved extra funds for its historic ally.

Washington has since enacted legislation providing at least $12.5 billion in military aid to Israel, which includes $3.8 billion from a bill in March 2024 and another $8.7 billion from a supplemental appropriations act passed this year.

“The US does have the leverage of providing the vast majority of the arms that are being used at the moment to kill Palestinians," Mr Salim said.

"And so it's clear that [Mr Biden's] not using any leverage he's given."

The “vote uncommitted” movement, which has rallied support in key swing states, said in a statement on X that Mr Biden's claim “is like an arsonist taking credit for tossing a splash of water on the fire he's still fuelling".

Mr Biden is on a tour to try to save his embattled campaign for re-election in November.

A disastrous debate performance against his Republican opponent Donald Trump stirred panic in the Democratic Party over his viability.

A recent assassination attempt on Mr Trump has cast further uncertainty around the election.

“To those who would condemn political violence, I would remind them that in this week, at least 90 Palestinians have been murdered as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza … that is through and through political violence that this country is also responsible for,” Mr Salim added.

The “vote uncommitted” movement has presented a threat to Mr Biden's chances in states such as Michigan.

In the Democratic primary race in February, more than 100,000 Michiganders cast “uncommitted” votes against Mr Biden, which shook the party into paying more attention to the growing pro-Palestine movement.

Ms Barmada says the President has done nothing to engage directly with Palestinian Americans, and that there is little he can do to earn back their trust, along with other Arab and Muslim-American voters, “other than completely outright saying that Israel is committing war crimes".

“I don't think there's any world in which I would change my perspective on the Democratic Party or on Joe Biden specifically,” she said.

Washington is expected to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Capitol Hill next week, where he will give a joint address to Congress at the invitation of leadership from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Mina Aldroubi in Abu Dhabi contributed to this report