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Hate language peaks as US candidates address AIPAC

Republican US presidential hopeful Donald Trump addresses the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference at the Verizon Center March 21, 2016 in Washington, DC. (AFP)

US presidential candidates take the stage at the 2016 AIPAC policy conference to voice unconditional support for Israel in an apparent attempt to attract more campaign funding from the influential Zionist lobby in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

To get the green light, the hopefuls voiced support for Israel by attacking Iran and Palestine more than ever before.

US Republican hopeful Donald Trump and his contender Senator Ted Cruz said they would relocate the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (al-Quds) as they recognize it as the true capital of the regime.

Trump and Cruz made the remarks during their speeches to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington's biggest pro-Israeli lobby group, as protesters were shouting anti-Israeli slogans outside the Verizon Center on Monday.

Protesters gather outside Verizon Center where Donald Trump and other presidential primary candidates are speaking during AIPAC 2016 Policy Conference on March 21, 2016 in Washington, DC.

Trump

The billionaire real estate mogul bragged about moving "the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem" in his speech.

Asked earlier by CNN whether he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy to Jerusalem, the New York billionaire replied: "Yes, I would."

"The fact is I would like to see it moved, I would like to see it in Jerusalem," he said.

Trump said that he would side with Israel in any negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Trump arrives to address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2016 Policy Conference at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, March 21, 2016.

"The Palestinians must come to the table knowing that the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable," he said.

"They must come to the table willing and able to stop the terror being committed on a daily basis against Israel and they must come to the table willing to accept that Israel is a Jewish state and it will forever exist as a Jewish State," Trump told the cheering members of the pro-Israel group.

On Iran, Trump said that he would end the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Tehran and the P5+1 group, calling the deal “catastrophic.”

"My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran," he said. "I have been in business a long time. I know deal making. And let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic. For America, for Israel and for the whole of the Middle East."

Cruz

Cruz also did his best not to fall behind in the race to win the Zionist regime’s support, saying, “On the first day in office, I will rip this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal to shreds.”

“This agreement gives over $150 billion to” Iran, which “dwarfs the $3 billion in aid we give to Israel each year,” he said, adding that he “will re-impose sanctions on Iran” on his first day of office.

On Iran's recent missile tests, the Texas senator said, “If I am president, and Iran launches a missile test, we will shoot that missile down.” 

Republicans claim that Tehran’s missile program poses a threat to global security, while Iran categorically denies the claim, arguing that it is solely defensive.

Kasich

John Kasich, another Republican candidate, also criticized the Obama administration for JCPOA, promising that in his “administration, there will be no more delusional agreements with self-declared enemies.”

He said he had called “for the suspension of the US’s participation in the Iran nuclear deal in reaction to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests.”

“These tests were both a violation of the spirit of the nuclear deal and provocations that can no longer be ignored,” he added.

Clinton

On the Democratic side, presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton delivered a pro-Israel speech at the AIPAC, while her rival Bernie Sanders apparently boycotted the event.

Clinton said she would “take the US-Israel alliance to the next level," warning against college campus BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement and "the growing effort to delegitimize Israel."

She also attacked Trump for saying he was “neutral” in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so that he could negotiate with both parties.

“America can’t ever be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security or survival,” she said. “Some things aren’t negotiable. And anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.”


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