Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will visit Israel on Sunday, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to visit the country after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Christie plans to meet with Israeli officials and is scheduled to visit the Gaza envelope region in southern Israel, according to an itinerary shared with CNN. The former governor will also visit with people wounded in the attacks and families of abducted civilians, the itinerary detailed.
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The 2024 presidential candidate made Israel a focus of his debate topics on Wednesday during the third Republican debate in Miami. Christie urged Israel to protect its territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens to ensure that “Hamas can never do this again.”
“The fact is that Israel and their intelligence community failed. They failed here, and they failed the people of the state of Israel,” he argued, adding that the United States needs to work closely with the Jewish state to improve intelligence-gathering in the Middle East.
In a predebate video, Christie, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) presented a united front with Israel and with each other. The former New Jersey governor slammed Democrats for being “divided” over Israel.
Christie has been vocal about denouncing anti-Israel sentiments since the war between Israel and Hamas began over a month ago. He has particularly focused on those shared by “Squad” Democrats like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
“These are people who have no business — absolutely no business — being listened to or respected regarding what America’s role in the world is and what Israel’s role is as the only democracy in the Middle East,” Christie previously said.
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The Hamas-run Health Ministry of Gaza announced on Monday that the death toll on the Palestinian side has surpassed 10,000. On the Israeli side, about 1,400 people have died, mostly civilians killed in the Oct. 7 attacks.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Christie for comment.
