US president’s remarks to Time magazine about PM’s role in conflict draw heavily critical response from Israeli government

US president’s remarks to Time magazine about PM’s role in conflict draw heavily critical response from Israeli government

Joe Biden has said that there is “every reason” to draw the conclusion that Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political self-preservation.

Biden made the remarks about the Israeli prime minister in an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday morning, drawing a sharp response from the Israeli government, which accused the US president of straying from diplomatic norms.

Netanyahu’s popularity plummeted after the 7 October attack by Hamas, which exposed serious flaws in Israeli security. Most political observers say Netanyahu would lose elections if they were held now, and would be forced into opposition, facing court hearings on corruption charges. But elections have been put off until the war is over, or at least until major military operations are deemed to have been completed.

Time asked Biden whether he believed Netanyahu was “prolonging the war for his own political self-preservation”.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” the president said in response, but added: “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

  • @tsonfeirEnglish
    2•7 months ago

    The US is not the only country who sells weapons to Israel. And, Israel manufactures weapons too. Having fewer super-cool missiles isn’t going to stop them from using the huge stockpile they already have.

    What a ridiculous American concept that everything revolves around you.

      • @tsonfeirEnglish
        5•7 months ago

        Because the military industrial complex is the ruler of the world and our elected leaders are just for show?

        • @[email protected]English
          16•7 months ago

          Oh I see now… Biden is “striking a difficult balance” between his support for genocide, and his public image of not enjoying it.

          • theprogressivist English
            -2•7 months ago

            You completely diregarded the article. Not that I expected you to read it. You asked why and here’s the answer.

            Legally, the U.S. can’t cut Israel off completely. Since 2008, the U.S. has had to weigh all arms sales to Israel and other countries in the region against the requirement that Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge” against all enemies, both state and non-state actors.

            The Biden administration in late April decided to pause a shipment of 3,500 “dumb” — aka, unguided — munitions that officials expected Israel to use in Rafah: 1,800 of those were 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 of those were 500-pound bombs. U.S. officials were particularly concerned about the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact the massive weapon would have in a dense urban setting.

            In announcing the pause, Biden for the first time acknowledged that civilians had been killed by these weapons in Gaza.

            “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said on CNN, referring to 2,000-pound bomb. “I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet: They’re not going to get our support, if in fact they go on these population centers.”

            The bombs were approved by Congress in 2021. They had been licensed by the administration, manufactured, and ready to be shipped when the order came down to pause the movement.

            • @[email protected]English
              0•7 months ago

              Ah yes, the law. It can be ignored when necessary and used as an excuse when convenient. How else could Biden be “striking a balance”? If he is bound by this law, why not condemn Israel’s genocide in strongest terms? That would be a balance, eh? And what about the law that says we can’t supply arms for an ongoing genocide? Ah right, he won’t call it a genocide-- conveniently sidestepping that law.

    • @[email protected]English
      11•7 months ago

      It’s mostly them, though, with a bit of contribution from Germany.

      I’m not actually sure if being cut off hard would stop them, what with Netanyahu’s personal freedom in the mix, but it would hurt a lot.

      • @[email protected]English
        5•7 months ago

        Nope. The German government stopped issuing weapon export licenses within days. Some stuff arrived that needed licenses but is completely useless in a genocide (training ammunition, artillery charges (not rounds but the propellant part) going to industry for testing), the rest is almost certainly useless in a genocide: 5000 Panzerfaust 2. Kind of hard to deny them that export as they happen to own the producer and Hamas, last I checked, doesn’t even have tanks and as they’re shaped charges they really only are sensible to use against hard targets.

        We still do export plenty of dual-use and non-weapon military equipment, though, those have lower export requirements. Helmets, replacement parts for radars, suchlike.

        • @[email protected]English
          1•7 months ago

          So just the US then, haha.

          Italy also gave them a few helicopters, which amounted to a percent of the total value or so, but everyone else gave pretty much purely symbolic aid before this kicked off. Germany and the US were the whole pie chart.

      • @tsonfeirEnglish
        -5•7 months ago

        It would do nothing.

          • @tsonfeirEnglish
            -2•7 months ago

            I don’t know what you know. But since you lead with “bold take,” I’m going to pass. You’re not interested. You just want a fight.

            • @[email protected]English
              1•7 months ago

              I didn’t mean it in a taunting way, it legitimately is just a strong and unexpected statement, from where I sit.

              Allow me to rephrase. The story I’ve heard from pretty much everyone, pro, anti and neutral, is that Israel is a small, vulnerable nation that has been propped up by the US. Do you have hard facts that contradict that?

              If so, I want to know, because I don’t enjoy being wrong.