Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley visited Israel over Memorial Day, where she was photographed writing messages on IDF artillery shells intended for use in the Gaza Strip.
One of her messages read "finish them!" while others expressed "America loves Israel!" along with her autograph, according to Rolling Stone.
Haley's visit comes amid decreasing American support for Israel's conflict with Hamas, largely due to repeated strikes on Palestinian civilians that have drawn widespread condemnation from Western nations. Despite this, Haley reaffirmed her strong support for Israel during her trip.
In a press conference, she stated that the U.S. should continue arming Israel without dictating how those weapons should be used. “America needs to do whatever Israel needs and stop telling them how to fight this war,” she declared. “You are either a friend or not a friend.”
During her visit, Haley also toured southern Israel and met with survivors of the October 7 attack by Hamas that resulted in the deaths of over a thousand Israeli citizens. The ongoing conflict has seen over 36,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, many of them women and children, with hundreds of thousands displaced.
Haley was accompanied by Danny Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. Both Haley and Danon share backgrounds as former UN ambassadors.
Though Haley is no longer in public office, she continues to leverage her platform as the last GOP candidate standing against Donald Trump to influence U.S. policy in favour of Israel. Last week, she announced her intention to vote for Trump in November despite previous criticisms of him as a “dangerous” candidate.
Haley criticised President Biden for withholding weapons from Israel to delay its assault on Rafah, adding that it was absolutely crucial to support Israel in its fight against common enemies.
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