Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Biden on Sunday for the first time since the US leader called Israel’s war against Hamas “overreach,” as Israel prepares for a controversial ground invasion of Rafah. There is.
The 45-minute phone conversation took place after Prime Minister Netanyahu Speaking on “Fox News Sunday” Bibi said he hasn’t spoken to his supposed close ally since Thursday, when Biden publicly criticized the prime minister’s war operations against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, adding that under similar circumstances, the U.S. would be far worse off. “I’ll do something,” he added.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said last week that when President Biden said, “I think the response in Gaza has gone too far,” “I don’t know exactly what he meant.”
“Look, we have suffered the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said. “The October 7th massacre was equivalent to the 9/11 attacks 20 times in one day, with 50,000 Americans massacred, burned, maimed, raped, and beheaded, and 10,000 others, including mothers and children. The equivalent of 100 Americans being taken hostage.
“So how would America react? I would say it would be at least as strong as Israel, but many Americans say, ‘We would have flattened Israel.’ We would have turned them to dust,” Netanyahu added.
On Sunday afternoon, the two leaders finally met again to discuss Israel’s war effort and the need to free hostages held by Hamas, as well as criticize the civilian toll in the Gaza Strip as Biden continues to destroy the terrorist network. He specifically asked the Jewish state to reduce the burden. To the White House.
The president warned Israel not to enter the southern Gaza city of Rafah “without a credible and viable plan to ensure the safety and support of the more than 1 million people sheltered there.” .
Some 1.4 million refugees who fled the war that has razed most of the Gaza Strip are currently staying in Rafah, where civilians are currently located between the border and the Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas invasion battle.
Sunday’s phone call ended with Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreeing to “continue close contact,” suggesting the two leaders may have repaired a recent rift that formed after Biden’s criticism of the war on Thursday. is.
Prime Minister Netanyahu told Fox that the IDF’s advance across Gaza was necessary to eliminate Hamas and avoid another October 7 attack, when terrorists in Israel massacred more than 1,200 people and started a war. justified as an action.
Mr. Biden initially expressed strong support for Israel in the Gaza Strip, but the president has become more critical following reports highlighting the civilian toll of the war.
The death toll in the Palestinian enclaves has exceeded 28,000, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and terrorists. As of near the end of January, the United States estimated that only about 9,000 Hamas terrorists had been killed.
In addition to the death toll, Biden and Netanyahu have been at odds over Gaza’s future after the war ends, with reports saying the president abruptly hung up during one heated phone call, halting weeks of talks. It is said that he did.
Biden has kept much of his criticism of Netanyahu behind closed doors, but aides say they are pushing him to be more public about his problems with the Israeli leader, according to people familiar with his private conversations. A source told the Washington Post.
“I don’t think anyone can look at what the Israelis have done in Gaza and not say it’s gone too far,” the official said of Biden’s longtime criticism.
“This leads to frustration with the Israelis. Have they finished the work on what happens next in Gaza? No, they haven’t really addressed the difficult questions.”
An outside White House adviser said of the Israeli invasion of Rafah, where displaced people from other parts of the war-torn Gaza Strip have taken refuge: “They are already living in tents and don’t have enough food and water. “You’re telling me to leave when you haven’t.” Somewhere else?
“Where? How are they supposed to get there?”
Netanyahu has undermined efforts by U.S. officials to promote peace in the Gaza war, while Biden has seen his political reputation decline among young Democrats over his support for Israel. Biden’s patience is also said to be being tested. officials added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week to discuss Hamas’ response to the draft peace agreement. Despite Mr. Blinken’s comments that it could still be recovered, the Israeli prime minister ultimately flatly rejected the plan as “delusional.”
The United States, Qatar and Egypt are working to broker a ceasefire to free the more than 130 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the only way to free the prisoners and end the war is through military force. He reiterated that it was due to
“Victory is within reach,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said. “We have already destroyed three-quarters of the Hamas organized terror battalion. Three-quarters, 18 out of 24, we are not going to leave the remaining six.”
He also rejected the two-state Palestinian-Israeli solution that Biden and European leaders have been promoting.
“I don’t think a two-state solution is possible, and even if it were possible, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said. “For more than 50 years, hundreds of self-styled pacifists, led by the United States, have tried to force a two-state solution on Israelis and Palestinians.
“No matter who is in charge, their efforts repeatedly fail,” he added.
