A senior Biden administration official refused to meet with Israel's ambassador in 2021, during the last conflict with Hamas, until the Jewish state reached a ceasefire with the Iran-backed terror group, according to internal government emails reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, was asked to meet with then-Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan in May 2021, when Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups were attacking Israel with missiles in protest of a court ruling that evicted six Palestinian families from an East Jerusalem neighborhood.
Power declined the meeting, internal government emails show, saying that Israel must first reach a ceasefire with the Palestinian terror groups before being granted a sit-down.
The behind-the-scenes diplomatic drama reveals how the United States used back channels to pressure Israel into stopping its siege on Hamas militants-tactics that once again may be in play as the Biden administration pushes Israel into ending its current war on the terror group.
In recent weeks, the Biden administration has begun to walk back its robust support for Israel's war against Hamas, with Biden saying on Thursday that the Jewish state's response to the worst terror attack in its history is "Over the top." The administration has also reportedly considered slowing down arms sales to Israel to pressure the Israeli government into reaching a ceasefire with Hamas.
A State Department spokesman declined to comment on the 2021 incident or respond to allegations that it is inappropriately pressuring Israel in order to appease far-left elements in the Democratic Party that have rebelled against the administration's more pro-Israel policies.
At least 12 UNRWA employees participated in Hamas's Oct. 7 rampage through Israel, and others helped the terror group imprison Israeli hostages.
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