Nikki Haley writes ‘Finish Them’ on IDF artillery shells during Israel visit
Nikki Haley, a former Republican presidential candidate and the Governor of South Carolina, caused outrage while visiting Israel on the holiday. She was in the northern part of Israel at the border with Lebanon with Danny Danon, an ex-ambassador to the UN and a key member of Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Haley’s shell-signing happened in the background of the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza strip that has claimed over 36,000 Palestinians, with about 15,000 of them being children. Nevertheless, Haley did not regret the act and further slammed the Biden administration for a brief pause in arms supplies to refrain from an Israeli attack in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
They looked for more funds from Congress to support this, and then Haley spoke to the reporters and said, “What America needs to understand is if Israel’s fighting our enemies, how can we not help them?” Haley underlined that supporting states must not scold Israel and added, “The sure way not to help Israel is to withhold weapons. The sure way to not help Israel is to praise the ICC, the ICJ or any of those who are
Haley made the remarks when she also targeted the international courts. ICC is asking for Netanyahu’s arrest, and ICJ is contemplating genocide charges against the Jewish state. Haley, together with Danon, who tweeted about the event, visited southern Israel for consultations with the attacked persons, which occurred on October 7 by Hamas, resulting in about 1,200 deaths and the hostage-taking of 253.
We should not be surprised by Haley’s support for Israel, as this has been evident even in earlier years. She has previously described Donald Trump as a “ menace” and frankly said that he lacked the qualities suitable for the presidency; yet, she said recently that she would be voting for him in the upcoming presidential elections. This puts her solidly on Trump’s side regarding some of his policies, including his support for Israel.
Palestinian officials said that during her visit, Haley also toured some localities in the occupied West Bank, which are regarded as illegal territory under international law. This part of her itinerary aroused great indignation among the representatives of the Israeli peace organisation.
Alon-Lee Green, a peace activist, expressed his disdain on social media, stating, “Dear Americans, Nikki Haley visited us today: she visited the West Bank settlements and afterwards signed on a bomb ‘finish them’ It makes me sick to my stomach Can you please take her back? We already had one [Itamar] Ben-Gvir [Israel’s National Security Minister], and we don’t need your death-inciting politicians. Thank you.
Haley’s actions and utterances during her visit have raised much controversy and brought into focus the existing division across the global community regarding the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Her support for Israel and anti-international judicial establishments and the Biden government have well illustrated the controversy of American foreign policy concerning Middle Eastern countries.
The ongoing strife in Gaza is a vivid example of how Haley’s appearance and move can be regarded as quite triggering the hatred and passion of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Thus, her position has inspired relatively supportive and quite critical comments overall regarding the ongoing conflict and the position of the international actors actively pursuing the goal.
