WASHINGTON — President Biden hinted in a new interview Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be prolonging the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for political reasons — even as Biden himself tries to block Israel from finishing off the jihadists in their final major bastion of Rafah.
Biden, 81, was asked by Time magazine whether “Netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political self-preservation?”
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Biden began before immediately adding: “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”
Polling shows the Middle East war has driven a wedge between Biden and important Democratic constituencies — including younger voters, Arab Americans and Muslims — ahead of his Nov. 5 rematch against former President Donald Trump.
The president has frequently been heckled as “Genocide Joe” and Democratic pundits have speculated that Netanyahu’s policies in Gaza may reflect a preference for Trump.
During his four-year term, Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to disputed Jerusalem, recognized Israeli ownership of the Golan Heights and presided over the brokering of diplomatic relations between Israel and five Muslim countries.
Biden has continued some Trump-era diplomatic effort, and in 2022 took Air Force One directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia to mark the opening of direct flights between the countries. He has suggested Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel was intended to derail looming Saudi-Israeli normalization.
Although Biden suggested that Netanyahu was to blame for extending the war, the US administration has repeatedly warned the Israeli leader not to finish off Hamas in Rafah due to fear of civilian casualties.
Last month, Biden halted a shipment of large 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs as a warning to Netanyahu not to proceed.
The president on Friday announced a proposed cease-fire, which Netanyahu’s government accepted and would permanently put the conflict on ice without a final battle in Rafah, with Biden arguing the terrorist group was so weakened that it could no longer threaten the Jewish state.
