Biden Says Netanyahu Is ‘Hurting Israel’

U.S. President Joe Biden claimed on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of war in Gaza against Hamas terrorists is “hurting Israel more than he’s helping” by not doing more to prevent civilian deaths in Gaza.

President Biden says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping” https://t.co/MeJoWbkzS3 pic.twitter.com/VSVffhC6iX

— The Hill (@thehill) March 10, 2024

Biden made the remarks during an appearance on MSNBC, in which he also claimed that Netanyahu’s decision to continue fighting the war was endangering global support for Israel.

“He {Netanyahu has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas, but he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken,” Biden said, adding, “He is hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world … it is contrary to what Israel stands for, and I think it’s a big mistake.”

While he said that he would “never leave Israel,” he pointed out that a ground invasion of Rafah would be crossing a red line, echoing remarks in the past that the U.S. would only back such an operation if Netanyahu presented a solid plan that would protect the about 1.3 million Palestinian civilians living in the area.

“You can not have 30,000 more Palestinian dead, as a consequence of going after [Hamas]there are other ways to deal with, to get to Hamas,” Biden stated.

Saying he wanted to see a cease-fire, Biden said it’s possible that they could agree on one before Ramadan. “I think it’s always possible. I never give up on that,” he stated.

“I want to see a ceasefire with a major, major exchange of prisoners, for six weeks. We are going into Ramadan, there should be nothing happening, and we should build off of that ceasefire,” Biden stated.

Netanyahu defended his political policies and approach to the war in an interview with Politico, in which he said Biden is wrong for accusing him of harming Israel’s interests and making calls that go against Israelis.

“I don’t know what the president meant, but if he meant that I lead a policy against the majority of the Israeli public and that it harms Israel’s interests, he is wrong on both counts,” he stated.