In an interview withTime magazine that took place last week amid negotiations for a ceasefire,the president made some of his harshest criticism yet of his Israeli counterpart,who is facing a growing backlash for the carnage in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and US President Joe Biden.Bethany Rae
Asked if he believed Netanyahu was prolonging the conflict for self-preservation,as some in Israel have said,Biden initially said,“I’m not going to comment on that,” before immediately adding,“There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion”.
In an apparent attempt to clarify his comments on Wednesday (AEST),after the article was published,Biden offered a more measured response when asked by a reporter during an unrelated White House event if Netanyahu was “playing politics with the war”.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “He’s trying to work out a serious problem he has.”
The comments nonetheless point to the fact that Netanyahu’s popularity in Israel and on the world stage has spiralled after the October 7 attack by Hamas,which exposed serious flaws in Israeli security and led to retaliatory strikes that have killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza and left many more starving.
Protesters calling for a ceasefire outside a US embassy office in Tel Aviv on Monday.AP
Political observers say that Netanyahu and his Likud party would lose an election if one were held now and he would also. However,elections have been suspended because of the war,giving the Israeli prime minister a political lifeline.
Biden’sTime comments drew a sharp response from Israel,with a government spokesman describing them as being “outside the diplomatic norms of every right-thinking country”.
The interview was given on May 28,three days before the president announced a at the White House on Friday.
The first stage of the plan proposes a six-week ceasefire during which the Israeli army would withdraw from the populated areas of Gaza,humanitarian supplies would be boosted and hostages would be exchanged.
The second phase would involve Hamas and Israel negotiating terms for a permanent end to hostilities,and the third phase would involve a permanent ceasefire and a reconstruction of Gaza.
Netanyahu is now under pressure to accept the deal while his radical right-wing coalition partners threaten to leave the coalition and topple his government if the proposal turns into an agreement.
Biden,meanwhile,continues to face a delicate balancing act over the war,which has sparked a and led to lost support among his traditional base in key battleground states.
Last month,,but was criticised last week for failing to act.
As images flooded social media showing charred bodies and videos of parents burning alive as their children screamed for help,Biden administration officials,including Vice President Kamala Harris,lamented the “heartbreaking” and “tragic” loss of life.
However,US officials said Israel had not started a “major ground operation” in Rafah and that the attack was not of the scale carried out earlier on Gaza City and Khan Younis,where buildings were decimated and hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed in a day.
Asked in theTime interview whether Netanyahu had crossed his red line,Biden refused to answer,noting that his team “in the process of talking with the Israelis right now”.
While he was clear that Hamas was responsible for the bloodshed,he was somewhat ambivalent when asked about allegations that Israel is committing war crimes,something the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating.
Palestinian women and their children walk through destruction in the wake of an Israeli air and ground offensive in Jebaliya,northern Gaza,at the weekend.AP
“The answer is it’s uncertain and has been investigated by the Israelis themselves,” Biden said,also noting that the ICC’s jurisdiction is not recognised by the US.
“But one thing is certain,the people in Gaza,the Palestinians have suffered greatly,for lack of food,water,medicine ... And a lot of innocent people have been killed.”
Tensions in Washington are likely to ignite further if,as expected,Netanyahu takes up an offer from House Speaker Mike Johnson,a Republican,to address a joint sitting of Congress some time in the next eight weeks.
Israeli soldiers work on a tank in a staging area near the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel on Monday.AP
Democrats are expecting a large part of their caucus to boycott the address,particularly within the party’s progressive wing,although some are reluctant to give the GOP the satisfaction of using the moment to highlight the party’s divisions.
Others,such as independent Senator Bernie Sanders,are adamant they will not attend.
On Monday,Sanders displayed graphic photos of starving Palestinian children on the floor of the Senate and blasted Johnson for eating “fine steaks” at fundraising dinners with his “billionaire friends” while children in Gaza were dying of malnutrition.
“These children and thousands more are the direct result of Netanyahu’s policies,” Sanders said. He also tweeted:“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend.”
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