AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Joe Biden took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday and urged him to change Israel’s governing coalition, ditching the far-right elements in his government.
Biden made the comments at a fundraiser, warning that Israel is losing international support in its war against Hamas. “They’re starting to lose that support,” Biden reportedly said at the event hosted by former AIPAC president Less Rosenberg.
“He [Netanyahu] has to change this government. This government in Israel is making it very difficult,” Biden said, according to a report from Reuters, adding:
He also said that ultimately Israel “can’t say no” to a Palestinian state, which Israeli hardliners oppose.
Biden said “we have an opportunity to begin to unite the region … and they still want to do it. But we have to make sure that Bibi understands that he’s got to make some moves to strengthen… You cannot say no Palestinian state… That’s going to be the hard part.
The Times of Israel also reported that Biden said, “Netanyahu is a good friend, but I believe he needs to change” — referring to his coalition partners.
“One of the things that Bibi understands is that Israel’s security can rest on the United States. But, right now, it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them. But they’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said, referring to the ever-rising death toll in Gaza.
“Israel has a tough decision to make. Bibi has a tough decision to make,” he concluded.
Biden is scheduled to meet with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas from Israel on October 7th, during a horrific attack that left some 1,200 people dead.
“Hamas to this day continues to hold women, elderly people, civilians in significant numbers. And yet still, it’s saying: ‘Hey, how about everybody just stops.’ So we believe that Israel has the right to defend itself,” said Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan this week while blaming Hamas for the breakdown of negotiations that led to previous deals to release hostages in exchange for pauses in fighting.
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