Clinton Backs Israel, Vows to Counter Hizbullah
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said that she would forcefully counter anti-Semitism and thwart Iran's proxies like Hizbullah if she was elected U.S. president.
“We cannot forget that Tehran’s fingerprints are on nearly every conflict across the Middle East, from Syria to Lebanon to Yemen,” the Democratic frontrunner told nearly 18,000 attendees at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference on Monday.
“The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies are attempting to establish a position on the Golan from which to threaten Israel, and they continue to fund Palestinian terrorists,” she said.
“In Lebanon, Hizbullah is amassing an arsenal of increasingly sophisticated rockets and artillery that well may be able to hit every city in Israel,” she told the cheering crowd.
Clinton said Washington “must work closely with Israel and other partners to cut off the flow of money and arms from Iran to Hizbullah.”
She urged European states and the international community to designate Hizbullah a terrorist organization similar to what the Arab League has done.
Earlier this month, the Arab League formally branded Hizbullah a terrorist organization, ramping up the pressure on the Shiite group, which is fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad in Syria.
In her speech, Clinton positioned herself as an unwavering friend to Israel.
"We need steady hands, not a president who says he's neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday, because everything's negotiable," she said about Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
"Israel's security is non-negotiable," she added.
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