President Joe Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza during an interview airing Tuesday, describing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict as a “mistake” and calling for a halt to the fighting. “Well, I will tell you, I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden told Univision, in an interview taped just days after Israeli military strikes killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, sparking anger and frustration throughout the White House. “I think it’s outrageous that those four, three vehicles were hit by drones and taken out on a highway where it wasn’t like it was along the shore, it wasn’t like there was a convoy moving there,” he continued, according to a Univision transcript of the interview.
Quick Read
- Biden’s Critique of Netanyahu: President Biden has expressed disapproval of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions in the Israel-Hamas war, highlighting a growing willingness to criticize the Israeli leader without indicating a major shift in U.S. policy towards Israel.
- Public Disagreement: In an upcoming Univision interview, Biden voices his disagreement with Netanyahu’s approach, questioning its alignment with Israel’s national interest and suggesting it may be driven by political survival.
- Continued U.S. Support: Despite Biden’s criticisms, the U.S. continues to support Israel, including recent arms transfers, without imposing conditions related to the war’s conduct.
- Congressional Pressure: Over thirty Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have urged Biden to reconsider arms transfers to Israel if civilian protections in Gaza are not adequately ensured.
- Humanitarian Concerns: Biden has called for an immediate ceasefire and emphasized the need for unrestricted humanitarian aid access to Gaza, with regional support from countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt.
- Netanyahu’s Response: The Israeli government has not signaled a shift in its military strategy, with Netanyahu indicating plans for a continued offensive in Rafah, despite U.S. opposition and concerns for humanitarian consequences.
- Hostage Negotiations: Amidst the conflict, efforts to secure the release of American hostages held by Hamas are ongoing, with Biden administration officials engaging in diplomatic talks to facilitate their return.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden: Netanyahu is making a ‘mistake’ with his handling of Gaza war
Newslooks- WASHINGTON- (AP)
President Joe Biden upped his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu role in the Israel-Hamas war but did not indicate any significant changes in U.S. policy toward its Mideast ally. “I think what he’s doing is a mistake,” Biden said in an interview with Univision that’s set to air Tuesday night in response to a question about whether Netanyahu is more concerned about political survival than Israelis’ national interest. “I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden added in the interview that was taped last Wednesday, illustrate how he’s increasingly willing to criticize his Israeli counterpart but with little policy change.
The president’s remarks illustrate how he is increasingly willing to publicly criticize his Israeli counterpart amid mounting criticism from progressives about Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza.
Biden last month praised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech that criticized Netanyahu and called for new elections in Israel. Schumer, D-N.Y., argued in his remarks that the Israeli prime minister allowed “his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.”
At the same time, Biden has also come under criticism for not backing up his comments with conditions on selling U.S. arms to Israel. NBC News previously reported the U.S. decision in March to send more weapons to Israel.
Last week, more than three dozen Democrats in Congress — including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — signed a letter urging Biden to withhold arms transfers if “Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers.”
In the Univision interview, Biden said that he is calling for Israelis “to just call for a cease-fire, allow for the next six, eight weeks total access to all food and medicine going into the country.”
“I’ve spoken with everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians. They’re prepared to move in,” Biden said. “They’re prepared to move this food in. And I think there’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now.”
Biden had been critical of Netanyahu before the Israeli airstrike on April 1 that killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers, but he began taking a harder line after the strike.
“Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” he said last week.
In the early days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, Biden repeatedly emphasized that his support for Israel was “ironclad.” The president has since had to contend with anti-war and pro-Palestinian protesters interrupting his speeches, as well as a campaign calling for voters to cast protest ballots for “uncommitted” rather than for Biden in the Democratic primary.
On Tuesday, families of American hostages met with Vice President Kamala Harris, who provided an update on the White House’s efforts to bring hostages home.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, said that there is “a deal on the table right now that all of the parties agree to and are willing to work with.”
They are waiting “for Hamas to get to ‘yes,'” he added.
The negotiations come as Netanyahu has signaled that Israel has set a date for an offensive on Rafah, which the U.S. opposes. The White House has maintained that “a major ground operation in Rafah would be a mistake,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby in March.
Biden expressed “deep concerns” about an Israeli offensive in Rafah to Netanyahu in a March conversation, according to the White House.
