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Joe Biden appeared to deepen his rift with Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, publicly praising a top Democrat’s remarks calling for the removal of the Israeli prime minister as a “good speech” that expressed “concerns” shared by many Americans.
His comments to reporters Friday morning are the latest sign that the U.S. president has all but given up on Netanyahu, who has angered his supporters in the White House by not allowing more aid to Gaza and pursuing war tactics that have killed thousands of Palestinians. civilians.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader and one of Israel’s most prominent supporters over his decades-long political career, sent bilateral relations into shock Thursday by calling Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace” who is weakening his country’s strength. “political and moral fabric”.
Schumer, the most senior Jewish elected official in Washington, urged Israel to hold new elections to remove Netanyahu from office.
Biden confirmed Friday that Schumer had given advance notice to the White House of his speech and its contents. “I’m not going to get into that,” the president said. “He gave a great speech and I think he expressed a serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans.”
Netanyahu, who was close to former Republican President Donald Trump but openly clashed with Democratic President Barack Obama, has gradually lost the support of the American left, an exodus that accelerated during Israel’s Gaza campaign and has threatened to erode Biden’s base during a riot. -election year.
But until recently, the Israeli prime minister could count on Washington’s senior Democrats – including Schumer and Biden – who have supported the Jewish state for decades.
In a sign of the changing political winds in Washington, senior Republicans have been quick to attack Schumer, with Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s top Republican, accusing his Democratic counterpart of meddling in another country’s domestic politics and undermining the right of Israel to defend itself.
“The main ‘obstacles to peace’ in the Israeli region are genocidal terrorists such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who massacre innocent people and the corrupt leaders of the Palestinian Authority who have repeatedly rejected peace agreements from several Israeli governments,” he said McConnell.
“Israel is not an American colony whose leaders serve at the pleasure of the party in power in Washington,” he added. “Only Israeli citizens should have a say in who leads their government.”
Ted Cruz, one of the most outspoken Republican conservatives in the Senate, attacked Schumer for “calling for the overthrow of the Israeli government while Israel is fighting potentially existential wars.”
Biden’s remarks were not the first to put distance between his policies and those of Netanyahu. In a television interview last weekend, the president accused Netanyahu of “hurting Israel more than helping it.” He said the prime minister has the “right to defend Israel and the right to continue to prosecute Hamas, but he must, must, must pay more attention to the innocent lives that are being lost.”
Netanyahu responded in an interview with Politico and German publications Bild and Welt, saying the majority of Israelis support his policy of trying to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions, opposing the return of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza and rejecting any attempt “to shove a Palestinian state down our throats.”
Asked later Friday whether Biden wanted to see new elections in Israel or for Netanyahu to relinquish power, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said “it will be up to the Israeli people to decide.”
Kirby added: “For our part, we will continue to support Israel in its fight against Hamas, we will continue to urge them to reduce civilian casualties and we will continue to work towards a temporary ceasefire, so we can bring the hostages home with their families and further aid to the population of Gaza.”
Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage.
Palestinian officials say Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza has killed more than 31,300 people and displaced more than 1.7 million of its 2.3 million population, fueling a humanitarian crisis that has left many in the enclave on the verge of starvation.