Israel ‘only exists’ because US is ‘standing behind it’

Sky News contributor Joe Hildebrand says Israel “only exists” because it has the US “standing behind it”.

The US was the first country to recognise Israel, recognising it as a country within hours of former Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion declaring the establishment of the State of Israel.

Mr Hildebrand said that while Israel has the capability to defend itself and “fought very well” as it did in the Yom Kippur War, Six-Day War and the War of 1948 “where it established itself", it is in very large part that it had the US standing behind it.

“Israel only exists because it’s got America standing behind it, which gives you an indication of how important American solidarity is,” Mr Hildebrand told Sky News host Sharri Markson.