During an interview with MSNBC on Saturday, US President Joe Biden accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of undermining the values on which Israel was founded and harming the country through his handling of the Gaza war.
“[Netanyahu] He has the right to defend Israel, and the right to continue to pursue Hamas, but he must, must, must pay more attention to the innocent lives that are lost as a result of the actions taken. “It hurts Israel more than it helps it by making the rest of the world…that goes against what Israel stands for, and I think it's a big mistake,” Biden said.
He was speaking amid growing tensions between Israel and the United States over Israel's behavior in its military campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza, an operation it supports in principle, but opposes elements of the operation.
It expressed particular concern about the high death toll, as Hamas confirmed that more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war. Israel confirmed that more than 11,000 of the dead were fighters.
The United States also said that Israel had not done enough to contain the humanitarian catastrophe that accompanied its military campaign, during which it destroyed roads, infrastructure and the governance system, making it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to distribute aid. .
Biden set a record
During a private comment Biden made on Thursday, which was captured on microphone, he said he needed to “meet Jesus” with Netanyahu on the issue of humanitarian aid for Gaza.
When asked by MSNBC what he meant by that comment, Biden said it was a euphemism for a “serious meeting.” He added: “I have known Pepe for 50 years and he knew what I meant.”
Biden was careful to stress to MSNBC that whatever his thoughts on Netanyahu, he supports Israel, especially on defensive weapons.
Biden stressed: “I will never leave Israel. Defending Israel is still very important, so there is no red line where I will cut off all weapons so that they do not have Iron Dome to protect them.” Biden said.
But at the same time, “you cannot have another 30,000 Palestinians dead as a result of Israel's persecution.” [Hamas]There are other ways to deal with it to reach Hamas.”
He recalled that when he visited Israel in October, he sat down with the country's war cabinet and warned it against making the same mistakes the United States had made when it entered Iraq and Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers in New Delhi. York in 2001.
“The first time I went there I sat down with the War Cabinet and said, ‘Don’t make the mistake that America made.’ … We shouldn’t have gone through the whole thing in Iraq and Afghanistan, it wasn’t necessary, it wasn’t necessary.” It caused more problems than it solved.
Go to the full article >>
“Infuriatingly humble alcohol fanatic. Unapologetic beer practitioner. Analyst.”