The US president is in the Middle East for the first time since taking office in early 2021, arriving in Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli leaders. He also met with Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank ahead of talks with Saudi leaders and other Gulf allies in Jeddah on Saturday.
The 46th US president turned red after comparing Israel’s contemporary treatment of Palestine with that of Britain’s historic attitude to Catholics in Ireland.
He said: “My family’s background is Irish-American. And we have a long history that is not fundamentally different from the Palestinian people, with Britain and their attitude towards Irish Catholics over the years for 400 years.”
He continued: “But my colleagues, when I was a US Senator, always joked with me that I always quoted Irish poets when I sat on the floor of the Senate.
“And they thought I was doing it because I’m Irish. That’s not why I did it; I did it because they are the best poets in the world.”
He then quoted from Seamus Heaney’s poem “The Cure at Troy,” which he described as “classically Irish, but it might suit Palestinians too” to make it clear that hope comes forever.
Margaret Thatcher’s former aide, Nile Gardiner, criticized the US president, saying: “Outrageous anti-British comments by Joe Biden.
“A reminder why this ignorant US president is no friend of Britain.”
His comment did not go down well on social media and many Twitter users criticized the president for his statement.
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