WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden had terse words for On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuand said he did not know whether the Israeli leader was delaying a Middle East peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“No administration has helped Israel as much as I have. None. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that,” he said, referring to the Israeli leader by his nickname. “And if he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on it.”
Biden, in a rare appearance in the White House press room, was responding to comments made by one of his allies, Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, who told CNN this week that he feared that Netanyahu has little interest in a bill. peace agreement partly because of American policy.
“I don’t think you have to be a hopeless cynic to interpret some of Israel’s actions, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions, as being linked to the U.S. election,” Murphy said.
Biden and Netanyahu have long succeeded in complicated relationshipbut they lack space to maneuver because their view of the War in Gaza divergent and their political future is at stake.
For Biden, a diplomatic deal would help resolve a deep divide among Democrats over the war and shore up support for Vice President Kamala Harris, allowing her to deal with one less global conflict if she wins next month. Netanyahu has his own political concerns closer to home: his far-right coalition would abandon him if he stopped the war, and he could lose power and must face its own legal problems. And Israel has decimated Hezbollah’s leadership, so there is little incentive to stop now.
Biden has long pushed for a diplomatic deal, and he and his aides have repeatedly indicated in recent months that such a deal is close. But that never seems to come to fruition, and in some cases Netanyahu has publicly resisted the prospect while U.S. and Israeli officials continue to privately discuss reaching a deal.
Just last week, the United States, France and other allies jointly called for immediate intervention. 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollahand hoped that Israel would welcome, if not fully endorse, the plan. Instead, Netanyahu publicly rejected it, telling leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly that Israel would “continue to degrade Hezbollah until all of our goals are achieved.”
Israel has advanced on two fronts, killing senior Hezbollah leaders and continuing a ground incursion into Lebanon and carrying out strikes in Gaza that killed dozens of people, including children. And the nation swore to fight back Iran’s ballistic missile attack this week.
Oil prices rose 5% on Thursday as concerns grew that Israel could strike Iranian oil facilities in revenge; A gas price hike so close to the election would be a major blow to Harris, especially after good economic news on Friday.
Biden said there was no decision yet on what kind of response to make to Iran, although “I think if I were in their shoes I would think about alternatives other than the strike oil fields.
He objected to the suggestion that he was seeking to meet with Netanyahu to discuss the response to Iran. That’s not the case, he said.
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“I guess when they make a decision on how they’re going to respond, then we’ll have a discussion,” he said.
But Netanyahu has become increasingly resistant to Biden’s public charm offensives and private pleadings, prompting the president to respond more assertively. And Biden in turn publicly resisted delivery of heavy bombs to Israel and have increasingly expressed concerns about all-out war in the Middle East.
Despite their long acquaintance, the two are neither close nor particularly friendly. When Biden was visiting Israel as vice president under Barack Obama, he and other U.S. officials were surprised by the Israeli government’s announcement of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, to which the administration responded. firmly opposed.
Nonetheless, Biden has remained consistent in his support for Israel’s defense and security. The day after the deadly Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7, he hugged Netanyahu on the tarmac at Tel Aviv airport. Since then, with few exceptions, Biden has supported continued and enhanced U.S. arms transfers to Israel, while warning Israelis to be careful in their responses to avoid civilian casualties.
“Israelis have every right to respond to the brutal attacks against them, not only from the Iranians, but from everyone from Hezbollah to the Houthis,” Biden said Friday. “But the fact is they need to be much more careful when it comes to dealing with civilian casualties. »
Biden also ordered the US military to strengthen its presence in the region to protect Israel from attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iran itself. In April, and again earlier this week, the United States was a major player in shooting down missiles fired by Iran at Israel.
On the other hand, Republican Donald Trump and Netanyahu maintain much more cordial relations. Trump hosted Netanyahu in July. While president, Trump initiated policy changes that Netanyahu applauded, including the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv, the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the plateau of Golan and the reversal of a decades-old US legal ruling that Jewish settlements in the West Bank were incompatible with international law.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.