Joe Biden has appeared to defend Israel after an escalation in conflict in the Middle East.
The President of the United States made his comments following a phone conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Take a look at Biden's speech to reporters in the video below:Per CNN, in a press conference held at the White House on Wednesday, May 12, the POTUS claimed that he'd spoken with Netanyahu earlier that day, stating: "My expectation and hope is this will be closing down sooner than later.
"Israel has a right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into their territory. But I had a conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel, and my hope is that I will see this coming to conclusion soon."
Biden's comments come in the wake of a series of skirmishes between Israel and Palestine, following the Israeli Supreme Court's decision to evict Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem.
The crisis in the region appeared to intensify further after a clash between Muslims praying at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound prior to the beginning of Ramadan and Israeli riot police.
This led to more civil disturbances across the nation, leaving a number of Palestinians being injured on Monday, May 10.
CNN reports that, according to a report by the Israeli military, Hamas militants in Gaza fired more than 1,000 rockets into Israel in response, leading to a total of seven deaths, and a further 200 injuries among Israeli civilians.
As a result, Israel's military has renewed its bombardment in the most intense campaign of airstrikes in Gaze since 2014.
Al Jazeera reports that at least 83 Palestinians, including 17 children, have been killed due to the targeted destruction of a number of high-rise tower blocks, which the Israeli military claims held a number of terrorist leaders.
Netanyahu has also declared an emergency in the town of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv, following more rioting from pro-Palestine groups.
Per Daily Telegraph, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also defended Israel's military response, stating:
"[There is] a very clear and absolute distinction between a terrorist organization, Hamas, that is indiscriminately raining down rockets - in fact, targeting civilians - and Israel's response defending itself."
However, Biden's predecessor Donald Trump appeared to blame him for the escalation of violence in a statement on his website, writing:
"Under Biden, the world is getting more violent and more unstable because Biden’s weakness and lack of support for Israel is leading to new attacks on our allies.
"America must always stand with Israel and make clear that the Palestinians must end the violence, terror, and rocket attacks, and make clear that the US will always strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself."
Meanwhile, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also criticized Biden's statement and endorsed a pro-Palestine stance.
In a statement addressed to her 12.7 million followers on Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez wrote: "Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgment of what precipitated this cycle of violence.
"Namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al Aqsa - dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations. It’s wrong. [sic]"
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