WSJ: Denying weapons to Israel in the middle of a war is betrayal

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) denounced former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in an editorial on Tuesday for their signing of a letter urging President Joe Biden to stop the transfer of weapons to Israel.

"Denying weapons to an ally in the middle of a war is the definition of betrayal," the newspaper's editorial board wrote, labeling Pelosi a "sunshine ally."

"Democrats claim to be looking out for Israel's best interests," the editorial board wrote, "but that's for Israelis to decide. The threats to withhold weapons from an ally must overjoy Hamas, whose strategy of hiding behind civilian deaths is the real source of Gaza's humanitarian tragedy."

The letter, signed by 40 House democrats after Israel mistakenly killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers last week, called on Biden to withhold a recently authorized arms package to Israel "until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed.

"If this strike is found to have violated U.S. or international law," the letter went on, "we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable," adding, "We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate — or arbitrarily denies or restricts — the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza."

In the days since the strike, which IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari called "a tragedy," Israel has conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident, firing two of the officers involved in the strike and disciplining a further three. The results of the investigation have been turned over to military lawyers, who are yet to determine whether anyone involved will be prosecuted.

American hypocrisy?

In its editorial, the Journal argued that the US was holding Israel to a standard that it, itself, had failed to meet, writing "You'd think the U.S. never made a mistake that killed civilians in wartime.

"They ignore the Hellfire missile attack that killed seven children as the US sought to avenge the deaths of 13 Americans in Kabul as Mr. Biden pulled US forces from Afghanistan in 2021," the editorial said, adding that "Israel has a history of accountability for such mistakes," calling the officers' firings "more than can be said for the U.S. failure in Afghanistan."

The editorial took aim at the Democratic Party at large, alleging a "history of abandoning friends in hard times," including during US wars in Vietnam and Iraq, as well as in Afghanistan. 

Leon Kraiem contributed to this report.