Biden says Netanyahu ‘hurting Israel’ in TV interview
US President Joe Biden says Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel” by not doing more to avert civilian deaths in Gaza as a split between the leaders grows.
Joe Biden met with Benjamin Netanyahu amid outrage and recrimination over the Gaza hospital blast. (AP PHOTO)
The president expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the October 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken” during an MSNBC interview on Saturday.
In a somewhat contradictory exchange with his interviewer, Biden said Israel’s threatened invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza would be his “red line” for Netanyahu but then immediately backtracked, saying, “I’m never going to leave Israel.”
Biden said: “They cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after” Hamas militants.
Biden and his aides have urged Netanyahu in strong terms not to launch a major offensive in Rafah until Israel crafts a plan for mass evacuation of civilians from the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area.
“There are other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with … the trauma caused by Hamas,” Biden said, referring to the Islamist group’s October 7 rampage in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed.
Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.
Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, “It’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.”
The president also delivered a warning to Israel over Rafah.
“It is a red line but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defence of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”
Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He travelled to Israel weeks after the October 7. attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might materialise.
He reiterated his call for a six-week ceasefire for hostage releases and aid delivery, though negotiations appear to have stalled.
Asked whether a ceasefire could still be reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on or around March 10, Biden said: “I think it’s always possible. I never give up on that.”
AAP/AP
If anyone’s hurting Israel, it’s Biden with his shifting focus and unreasonable pressure. And all because of US election year. We are not about to sacrifice ourselves on the altar of US politics, Joe Biden.