If not UNRWA then what? | Knesset discusses alternatives for Gaza aid

The Knesset on Sunday discussed the humanitarian aid that UNRWA provides to the Gaza Strip and viable options to replace the organization.

“We need to tell the truth because the international community is absolutely lying that UNRWA is the only option for humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. We had a number of experts and professors on humanitarian aid who have served throughout the years in organizations advising the United Nations, in different conflicts and they all said one thing: ‘There are other options,'” MK Sharren Haskel (National Unity) tells Arutz Sheva-Israel National News.

“More so,” she adds, “UNRWA right now is not really providing the humanitarian aid needed to Palestinians. It means that they are pocketing the money of the contributing donors. That money is being pocketed by Hamas, a terrorist organization.”

MK Haskel explains that “there are other options, but as the United Nations said, ‘they don’t want it.’ They told other contributing countries not to divert the funds to other organizations. They want to solely give it to UNRWA because they are profiting from UNRWA. They do not want the World Food Organization to take charge. They do not want UNICEF to be in the picture. So, at this meeting, we actually dispelled some of the biggest lies that the international community and humanitarian community are trying to spread. There is a replacement for UNRWA and there is a better solution for humanitarian aid for Palestinians.

David Bedein, Director of The Center for Near East Policy Research “As a journalist who has covered UNRWA since 1987, I’ve seen good things and bad things in what’s happened. One of the best things that happened was not only when Trump cut it completely, but even under Biden when the US government made a decision to condition aid to UNRWA on the ending of the curriculum, which is the curriculum of murder; not just hatred, but murder. Well, that sanction against UNRWA continued for 2 years until the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs interfered and said ‘You have to continue funding UNRWA and that’s the issue right now, which is not the US, but Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the 400 corporations who are right now invested in industries that serve UNRWA.”

Alternative scenarios for humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza were presented today at the Knesset by international experts during a special session of the caucus “The Day After UNRWA” chaired by MK Sharren Haskel. The experts included a former general counsel of UNRWA, a Europe-based former UN chief of mission for a UN Migration Agency, a crisis aid worker, a British academic who studies and advises the United Nations, and the head of a consultancy who has advised the UN and 80 NGOs.

Among the scenarios discussed were shifting from UNRWA to the UN cluster model used in crises all around the world; using the Sudan model where donor countries and their aid agencies (in the case of Sudan the United States via USAID) oversee aid distribution; turning UNRWA into an UN Middle East hub which services all refugees in the Middle East.

“The point of the session was to demonstrate that there are alternatives to the current situation in Gaza with UNRWA. Experts today have come up with a variety of possibilities in answer to the question “If not UNRWA then what?” Now we — the government of Israel and the international community– need to have the courage to implement change for a better future for Israelis and Gazans.”

KAN News: A troubling trend: Russia is cementing its military presence near Israel

[Translation of Hebrew report]

Media in Syria have published documentation of Russian military patrols and
a new military position, joining other positions near the border with
Israel.
A Syrian opposition source to KAN news said: “If Israel thinks that these
positions will actually reduce the presence of Iran and its proxies in
Syria, it should think again.”
Roy Kais KAN 22:31  March 17, 2024

https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/defense/724562/

A trend that may not be good news for Israel: Russia continues to establish
a military presence in southern Syria near the border with Israel, as
reported today (Sunday) in the “Evening News” program on KAN 11.

In recent days, media outlets associated with the Assad regime have
published documentation of patrols by the Russian military police and a new
position in southern Syria of the Syrian and Russian militaries, a few
kilometers from the border with Israel.

This position joins several others that the Russians have placed on the
administrative border between Daraa and Quneitra near the Golan Heights.

This also includes recent overflights by Russian aircraft that have been
documented in the skies of southern Syria near the border with Israel.

Media outlets associated with the Assad regime in Syria have published
documentation of the establishment of a new position near its border with
Israel by the Russian military.

A source in the Syrian opposition said that these positions will not reduce
the presence of Iran in the south of the country.

According to a Syrian opposition source, speaking with “KAN news,” this
Russian establishment comes after months of complete absence. It’s uncertain
whether this is good news for Israel, in light of Russia’s side in the war
in Gaza and its closeness to Iran amid cooperation between the sides in the
war in Ukraine.

At the same time, the same source told “KAN news” that if Israel thinks that
these positions will actually reduce the presence of Iran and its proxies in
Syria, it should think again since the Russians are doing nothing to curb
the presence of Iran and its proxies, including in southern Syria. In
conclusion, if in the past an increased Russian deployment beyond the border
was positive, today it’s not so sure.

________________________________________
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The Israeli companies that earned $60 million working with UNRWA

Twenty-five Israeli companies conducted direct transactions with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from 2020-2023, bringing in around $60 million. Some of them continued to have commercial dealings with the organization even after the outbreak of the war, according to data released by Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky (Israel Beitenu) taken from UNRWA’s contract reports with Israeli suppliers from 2020- 2023 (excluding the second quarter of 2023, for which no data were provided by UNRWA). These reports indicate that many companies and businesses in Israel directly benefited from the controversial organization’s activities.

A destroyed UNRWA facility in Gaza.
(Credit: UNRWA)
UNRWA is a UN organization established to provide relief services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. According to Israel, UNRWA employees participated in the massacres carried out during the October 7th attacks, and the organization’s facilities and vehicles were also used. Israel says that UNRWA and Hamas are fundamentally connected. According to reports, twelve UNRWA employees have been accused of involvement in the massacres. According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, nine UNRWA employees were fired, one of whom died, and two others are under investigation.
Last week, Israel decided to weaken UNRWA so that it would no longer be operational. This approach was adopted after lengthy deliberations by political and security entities, who believed that although UNRWA is a problematic organization which has perpetuated the refugee issue and collaborated with terrorist organizations like Hamas, there is currently no real alternative that can manage and distribute humanitarian aid to Gaza’s residents, particularly during a period when such assistance is more critical than ever. It is undisputed that Gaza is currently experiencing a massive humanitarian crisis, with some reports suggesting that parts of the Gazan population are facing extreme hunger, and there are concerns about the spread of disease.
Ultimately, the decision to restrict UNRWA’s activities was reached after the IDF concluded that this would harm Hamas’s civilian infrastructure in Gaza, and after mounting evidence of UNRWA employees participating in the October 7th massacres and its close ties to Hamas. The IDF and the government are considering, among other things, working with local clans in Gaza which has its own challenges. Last week, it was reported that Hamas executed members of a family suspected of collaborating with Israel.
One of the main strategies to curtail UNRWA’s activities is economic warfare. Efforts are being made within the security system to strip the organization of its ability to operate independently. The government instructed Israeli banks to close accounts used by UNRWA, and last month, Bank Leumi announced the closure of UNRWA’s bank account due to concerns that the funds were aiding terrorism.
In addition to Israeli banks, UNRWA has extensive economic ties with Israel as a significant portion of its activities are carried out within Israeli territory. For example, UNRWA’s central office dealing with Palestinian affairs in the West Bank is located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, and from 2020-2023, the organization paid around $2.1 million in property taxes to the Jerusalem Municipality.
The previously mentioned direct transactions between Israeli companies and UNRWA totaling approximately $60 million from 2020 to 2023 is just the tip of the iceberg. It is believed that many more Israeli companies indirectly provided services and sold products to UNRWA through intermediaries, including contractors and Gaza businessmen, some of whom are believed to be affiliated with Hamas.
The most well-known Israeli companies that worked directly with UNRWA include energy company Paz, car importers Champion Motors, Auto Chen, and the Carasso Group, and communication companies Partner and Cellcom’s 013 Netvision. Paz said that they ended ties with UNRWA Gaza on October 7th. The other companies did not comment.

MK Yulia Malinovsky.
(Credit: Orel Cohen)
The total amount of transactions conducted by UNRWA in the last quarter of 2023 amounted to $85 million, with the main suppliers being companies from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza, UAE, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, as well as countries like Austria, Sweden, Denmark, and Israel.
Some of the companies doing business with UNRWA said that some contracts in the reports had not been finalized, and that payments were not actually made, partly because Israeli banks and other businesses are no longer willing to work with UNRWA. This has left many of these organizations in debt. A manager from one of the companies told Calcalist that his company has been boycotted because it is known that he worked with UNRWA, which has significantly affected his business: “We cannot pay salaries. I have fifty employees whom we have barely been able to keep on for two months. UNRWA owes me NIS 5 million ($1.35 million), and the banks are not willing to accept money from them. I won a contract, operated in accordance with the law, and now they are boycotting us. I’m worried that people will burn down our business.” Other companies noted that they cut ties with UNRWA after October 7 even though their contracts appear in the report for the last quarter of 2023.
In conversation with Calcalist, Knesset member Malinovsky said, “For many years, the State of Israel and Israeli companies have worked with UNRWA. But now, after seeing the horrors committed by UNRWA employees, such as the murder of hostages, Israel must declare UNRWA a terrorist organization.” Malinovsky estimates that the majority of the more than $60 million from UNRWA to Israeli contractors was conducted through a third party. For example, a Gaza contractor close to Hamas who won a UNRWA tender to build a school worth millions of dollars purchases goods like cement in Israel. “Continuing to trade and have working relations with UNRWA is an affront to the memory of the victims [of October 7],” emphasized Malinovsky.
Malinovsky recently submitted a bill to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization, which would prevent the organization from operating in Israel and prohibit Israeli bodies and companies from working with it. The bill faced opposition from the Knesset Committee on Legislation and was not exempted from the obligation of a 45-day notice in the Knesset before being raised for a preliminary vote. Therefore, Malinovsky will only be able to bring it to a vote in two months, at the start of the Knesset’s summer session in May. “In my view, we owe it to the victims, the wounded, the missing, and their families to approve the bill,” said Malinovsky. “It is impossible to move on and continue to work with UNRWA.”
Malinovsky is outraged that the National Security Council, headed by Tzachi Hanegbi, opposes the promotion of the bill. “The NSC is subordinate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it is his duty to act to thwart UNRWA’s activities in Israel and to prevent economic ties between the organization and Israeli companies,” she said. Additionally, she is upset that a discussion on the matter initiated in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee was declared confidential.
According to her, the reason for the government’s opposition to the bill is a reluctance to worsen its relations with the UN and the international community. “Since we lost 800 citizens and soldiers in one day, and we have captives in the hands of Hamas – some of whom are UNRWA employees – I no longer care about the UN,” she added. She also pointed out that “at the beginning of the war, many countries in the world stood by Israel and even cut off ties and support to UNRWA, but now countries like Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, and France have returned to funding UNRWA. If we had declared UNRWA a terrorist organization, many countries might have followed suit.”

Biden has failed to understand what this war means to Israel

Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden released a detailed medical report.

The growing tension between Washington and Jerusalem, which this week escalated into blunt messages towards Benjamin Netanyahu from President Joe Biden, makes it that much worse for the IDF to ensure it would have the freedom of operation in Gaza. It also presents Israel’s civilian leadership with a challenge: Is there a way to achieve the war objectives in Gaza without escalating the confrontation with the Biden administration and losing the support of the White House?

Biden’s standing by Israel at the start of the war will be remembered as one of the high points in the special relationship between the countries. But this has been blunted by the passage of time, the images from Gaza, the disputes over the “day after”, and domestic US politics ahead of the presidential elections, all of which have made relations tense and delicate.

While Biden says that he continues to support the goals Israel has defined for the war, the limits he has placed on Israel make achieving them an almost impossible task.

The points of friction can be summed up as follows:

Israeli action in Rafah

Hamas’ brigade in Rafah, with its four battalions, constitutes one-fifth of the organization’s military force. In addition to its missions, it is also responsible for the stretch of border connecting Gaza to the outside world via Egypt. Through it, weapons, technical equipment, operatives, and commanders are smuggled in. Terrorists from other areas of the strip have found refuge in Rafah during the fighting. Does anyone really think that Hamas’ rule and military capabilities can be defeated without action in Rafah?

Reducing Palestinian casualties

Biden expects the fighting to continue while reducing Palestinian civilian casualties. He relies on data from Hamas’ Ministry of Health, whose reliability is unclear, and is not satisfied with the IDF’s evidence of an extremely low fatality ratio of “uninvolved” vs. combatants, partly thanks to population evacuation and stringent precautions taken by Israeli troops, which some say are overly stringent.

Should the entire burden be on Israel’s shoulders? Have they thought in Washington about persuading Egypt to allow temporary humanitarian refuge in Egyptian Rafah to enable the fighting? At a time when the US, the EU, and other countries are providing billions of dollars in aid to the Egyptian economy, this option could have been seriously considered as well.

Increasing humanitarian aid

Biden’s demand to increase humanitarian aid and related initiatives (airdrops, maritime pier) show that his administration has not internalized that the problem is not delivering aid to the strip, but its distribution within it. Hamas will take control of everything that enters. It will use it to supply its fighters (and prolong their ability to fight) and strengthen its rule. The way to prevent this is to deliver the aid to areas that Hamas would not be able to access it, which could also be achieved by establishing a humanitarian refuge in the Egyptian side of Rafah.

An “improved Palestinian Authority” in Gaza

Another issue straining relations with the Americans is the Israeli position regarding the establishment of an “improved Palestinian Authority” in Gaza. The Biden administration has not internalized the suspicion Israelis harbor towards the PA and its current or former leaders, and to the possibility of establishing a Palestinian government in the terror city that will not cooperate with Hamas.

The US’ posture of discounting the extent of public support for Hamas in Gaza, and the fact that it is entrenched in all spheres of life in the strip has had the administration hold on to an optimistic assessment regarding the ability to bring about deep change through governmental models under Arab or international auspices, detached from Hamas. As long as there remains a strong, organized, and armed core of the terror organization in Gaza, it will have effective control over the strip.

“Regional integration” and a “Palestinian state”

Looming over all these issues is the disagreement over America’s vision, which seeks to create regional integration that includes peace agreements between Israel and Saudi Arabia and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The war provided the Biden administration with an opportunity to bring about a new regional order. The president also needs this ahead of his elections, but from Israel’s perspective, normalization with Saudi Arabia will not compensate for Hamas’ non-defeat.

Talk of a “Palestinian state” after the Oct. 7 massacre constitutes a prize for Hamas and also expresses a lack of understanding of the sentiment in the Israeli public. Anyone who thinks that after the October events Israel will take risks like those taken in the past lives in La La Land.

The root problem

The root of the dispute between Washington and Jerusalem concerns the meaning of the war, which brought Israel back to the realization that it is still fighting for its existence. The Biden administration has not internalized that for Israel, the defeat of Hamas is an existential issue. It is not like America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were conducted thousands of miles away.

The players in our region are keeping a watchful eye on what is unfolding. Their posture and conduct toward Israel will be influenced by the results. The deterrence that collapsed on October 7 will not be restored if Israel stops short of meeting the goals it has defined for the war. An Israeli failure will have it face an existential threat, the temptation to attack it will grow, and its diplomatic standing will be severely crippled. Therefore, the room for maneuver that Israel can afford is highly constricted.

Biden expects the fighting to continue while reducing the scope of civilian casualties.

The administration’s approach plays into Hamas’ hands and has granted Hamas freebies: A delay in action in Rafah and increased humanitarian aid – conditions that help it reassert its control. The pressure from Washington moves Israel closer to a war of attrition, whose costs are high and its duration is difficult to control. They even push away America’s hopes of advancing a deal for the release of the captives.

So what should we do?

First, continue public diplomacy and persuasion efforts with administration officials and the American people despite the slim chances of moving the needle.

Second, increase efforts in areas where there is no dispute: targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders abroad, raids on targets in the strip where signs of Hamas has been rearing its head.

Third, promote the establishment of temporary humanitarian shelters, in Egyptian Rafah (with Egyptian consent) or the strip (such as in the Dahaniya area near Rafah), and accelerate preparations for action in Rafah.

In the spirit of President Biden’s words, in the speech he gave after the massacre: “Hamas’ stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. Israel has the right to respond — indeed has a duty to respond – to these vicious attacks.”

Ring of fire

Palestinian members of the marine unit of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in an anti-Israel parade in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13, 2015. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90 *** Local Caption *** çîàñ
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This tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes has the potential to cause lethal upheavals at any given moment.

Its destructive possibilities have been known for quite some time. In addition there is no way of knowing when it will activate and very little that can be done to mitigate its malign effects on countries and humans.

Basically, we are powerless in the face of nature’s destructive forces.

The Jewish People are no strangers to facing their own rings of fire, which over the millennia have erupted with devastating consequences in almost every part of the globe.

Unlike the unpredictable tremors generated by the forces of nature, the lethal shocks generated via pogroms, libellous lies and poisonous rhetoric are entirely predictable. While there is very little that can be done to prevent natural disasters, there is plenty that can be undertaken to prevent and thwart the tsunamis of vindictiveness against us.

It is necessary to first of all understand and recognize the root of the threats and then to take steps to deal with them in a timely manner.

Herein lies the dilemma we face these days.

Everyone living in countries bordering the Ring of Fire knows that sooner rather than later, “the big one” will strike.

On the other hand, there are, unfortunately, still far too many Jews who prefer to pretend that they are immune to the aftershocks of any sort of lethal tremors directed against them. It is not as though there are no early warnings of impending destructive forces. They abound everywhere and the message could not be clearer.

Just look at the eruptions currently occurring.

The Hamas kidnapping and horrific rape of Israeli women on 7 October is a perfect case in point. The international feminist movement has been noticeable by its silence despite the fact that there are still hostages in Gaza who are subject to the most indescribable indignities imaginable. When Nigerian Christian girls were abducted in 2014 by Islamic jihadists, the world was in an uproar, and the likes of Michelle Obama carried posters demanding their immediate return. Presumably, Jewish women being abducted do not warrant the same concern because the former First Lady and others have been conspicuously mute.

In fact, the subject of Hamas hostage-taking has sunk beneath the waves and is instead replaced by selective “moral” outrage over Israel’s response to terror. In this campaign to blame Israel we once again witness the usual peripheral Jews being trotted out by the media to bash the country.

Progressives in the USA and elsewhere are enlisting the support of disparate groups in a campaign of delegitimisation. This falls on fertile ground in academia where ignorance about historical facts goes hand in hand with endemic Jew hate. Electoral considerations mandate a sacrificial lamb, and Israel is the perfect candidate. The subsequent byproduct of Jew hate has now risen to a level not seen since the heady days of Germany’s pogroms against Jewish communities.

Israel has produced irrefutable proof of UNRWA staff complicities in aiding and abetting Hamas terror. Well before 7 October, it was known that UNRWA schools were in league with Hamas and that terror tunnels existed under UNRWA facilities. In the face of these facts the only defense was one of denial. UNRWA belatedly promised to investigate in response to what was to become a temporary cut-off in funding by donor countries,

In what one can only describe as the perfect fraud of the millennium, UNRWA now claims that its staff’s confessions of involvement with Hamas and its atrocities were “forced and coerced” by Israeli interrogators. Additionally, UNRWA accuses Israel of the rape of Palestinian Arabs. In other words, the best means of defence is to accuse your accusers of the very crimes that the terror groups employ. As blaming Jews for crimes committed by others is a well-tried and trusted method employed over the past centuries, there is every reason to believe that this time around, the mud will stick. Sure enough, in the morally polluted assemblies of the United Nations, UNRWA can be assured of steadfast support and continued financial beneficence.

Germany has demanded that Israel rescind the building of homes in Judea and Samaria. It has only taken about eighty years for the Germans to once again decide where Jews can live and for others to jump on the same bandwagon. Russia’s Foreign Minister maintained at the Moscow meeting of Islamic terror groups that “Jesus was born in Palestine.” This supreme and moronic fabrication is, of course, par for the course in the long and lamentable revision of historical facts which have become divine revelations of infallibility.

Is it any wonder, therefore, that Saudi Arabia can blatantly assert that “Israel is Judaizing the West Bank” – i.e. Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem? The fact that Jews now living in Israel’s Capital and heartland can be guilty of a heinous crime merely illustrates the absurd situation that prevails. The eruption of condemnations reverberating forth from every quarter proves that historical realities are irrelevant.

Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria were settled by Jews long before Wellington, Canberra, Washington and London were colonized. The irony of Italy refusing to accept the credentials of a designated Israeli ambassador because he lives in “occupied” territory is another example of the prevalent lunacy. Apparently Roman ethnic cleansing of Jews is perfectly acceptable but for today’s successor of the Romans, Jews returning to their ancestral homeland is an anathema.

Meanwhile, it took a former French Foreign Minister to resurrect an ancient yet still surviving libel. He is on record of accusing “settlers” of poisoning Arab wells. In the past, this claim, together with accusations of deicide, was enough to ignite theological and physical terror against European Jewish communities. We all know where that ended. Making the same allegations of well poisoning today is guaranteed to resonate with all those who are looking to cause trouble.

That is why threats of “holy war” during Ramadan are now the daily theme of Islamic incitement. The fact that Biden can quote Hamas produced numbers of casualties in Gaza and Jordan’s Queen can accuse Israel of genocidal actions is a direct result of the torrent of untruths cascading forth on a daily basis.

The continued acquiescence by the international community to the obscene utterances emanating from Ramallah is proof that Israel cannot entrust its security to anyone but itself.

Take, for example, as recorded by MEMRI, a Fatah official stating that “the Holocaust was necessary because Jews planned to take over Germany by destroying its economy and moral values.” This abhorrent slander raised nary a ripple of protest at the UN and has had no adverse effect on all those peddling the notion of “Palestine” as a respected member of the international community.

At the same time, it has been disclosed that the PA is actively working towards having Israel suspended from United Nations membership. No doubt this move would have the overwhelming support of all the despotic and non-democratic regimes represented at the UN. Whether this eventuates or not is immaterial because it merely highlights the prevailing rotten state of affairs.

If the Ukrainians fighting against Russian imperialist ambitions thought that they might at least attract some sort of moral encouragement from the Vatican, they were rudely awakened. The Pope urged them to “have the courage of the white flag.” He told them that “when you see that you are defeated, you have to have the courage to negotiate.”  The concordat with Nazi Germany no doubt was an example of waving the white flag and abandoning any pretence of opposing the forces of evil.

These few examples exemplify the destructive seismic forces currently occurring.

The ring of fire arrayed against Israel and Jews worldwide will not subside or disappear. There is no point in lamenting or surrendering.

The only flag we must wave is the blue and white one. The Jewish national home is an eternal inheritance of the Jewish People and is destined to outlast all its oppressors.

REPORT: Biden Administration Grants Iran Billions in New Sanctions Relief

The Biden administration is reportedly unfreezing billions in new sanctions relief for Iran.

This move comes just a month after three U.S. soldiers were killed in drone attacks carried out by Iran-backed militias.

The Obama administration was known for having a curious determination to empower Iran and given that the Biden administration employs many of the same people, one can’t help but wonder if this is just a continuation of the same disastrous wrongheaded policy.

Biden Admin Renews Iran Sanctions Waiver That Unlocks Upwards of $10 Billion for Regime

The Biden administration on Wednesday reapproved a sanctions waiver that unlocks upwards of $10 billion in frozen funds for the Iranian government, according to a copy of the notice submitted to Congress late Wednesday and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon

Republican foreign policy leaders in Congress raised concerns about the waiver earlier this week, the Free Beacon reported, saying that sanctions should not be lifted on the hardline Iranian regime in light of its support for Hamas and other terrorist proxy groups waging war on Israel and American outposts in the region.

While the State Department maintains the funds can only be accessed by Iran to pay for humanitarian supplies, like food and medicine, critics of the sanctions waiver argue that money is fungible, and that the waiver frees up cash for Iran to spend on its global terrorism operations.

Every instinct Biden has for foreign policy is wrong.

 

 

 

 

This move is dangerous and makes absolutely no sense.