Nineteen Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday demanding that he take four specific actions in response to the heinous terrorist attacks that erupted one week ago in Israel.
The attacks, which killed well over 1,300 Israelis and more than two dozens Americans, were carried out by Palestinian Islamic terrorists with Hamas. More than 3,000 others were injured in the attacks.
The letter condemned the attacks and made clear that the governors stood on Israel’s side in the new war in the Middle East.
“Your administration’s initial response—including a call for a ceasefire—created dangerous confusion that has only further emboldened state-sponsors of terror and their henchmen to continue attacking Israel,” the said. “Unfortunately, this type of international chaos and violence is a direct result of your administration’s appeasement-first foreign policy.”
The governors called on Biden to change course by projecting American strength in this moment.
“First, we call on you to prioritize the protection of Americans who remain in harm’s way. To date, we have learned that Hamas terrorists murdered 27 American citizens and have taken an unknown number of Americans hostage,” they wrote, later adding that “the lack of transparency” in their process of how they are trying to get the U.S. citizens back “leads us to question whether your administration is pursuing this objective with maximum energy and diligence.”
“Your administration should not rest until these Americans safely return to American soil,” the said. “We also ask that you promptly communicate any continuing losses of American life to the states so that we can provide support and assistance to impacted families.”
They also called on Biden to “provide unequivocal support to Israel as it defends itself and works to eliminate the Iran-backed terror group Hamas.” They mentioned that the U.S. needed to leverage its power in the international community to ensure that Israel has “the latitude to do what it must.”
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“Third, we call on you to cease your appeasement and empowerment of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, including an immediate freeze of the $6 billion ransom payment made to the terror state and an expansion of sanctions against the Iranian regime,” they continued. “After your administration relaxed billions of dollars in sanctions, it negotiated a ransom payment that has provided Iran with additional means and confidence to reallocate funds to support terrorism. You must also immediately cut off foreign aid to Hamas- or Hezbollah-controlled territories. If we’re serious about not negotiating with terrorists, we must also stop allowing U.S. tax dollars to fall into their hands.”
Their final demand was that Biden close the U.S. souther border to protect Americans from dangerous individuals entering the country.
The 18 Republican governors who signed the letter were Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Oklahoma Governor Kevin State, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.