The two have had other moments of tension over the years, and their current differences over the war in Gaza create a challenge that President Joe Biden was trying mightily to avoid.
President Joe Biden’s efforts to persuade Benjamin Netanyahu to halt military strikes against Hamas in Gaza are plunging the two leaders into a difficult early test of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. The two have had other moments of tension over the years, and their current differences over the war in Gaza create a challenge that Biden was trying mightily to avoid. Biden told Netanyahu in a telephone call Wednesday that he expected “significant de-escalation” of the fighting by day’s end, according to the White House. But the prime minister came right back with a public declaration that he was “determined to continue” the Gaza operation “until its objective is achieved.” Netanyahu did allow that he “greatly appreciates the support of the American president,” but said nonetheless that Israel would push ahead. This is not where Biden had hoped to expend his time and energy. Early in Biden’s term, foreign policy has taken a back seat. The president has tried to avoid getting bogged down in an interminable effort to establish an elusive Mideast peace that many of his White House predecessors have dedicated precious time to without much success. This is not the first time Biden and Netanyahu have been publicly at odds. As vice president, Biden kept Netanyahu waiting for a dinner meeting after the Israeli leader embarrassed President Barack Obama by approving the construction of 1,600 new apartments in disputed east Jerusalem in the middle of Biden’s 2010 visit to Israel. Netanyahu sought to patch up hurt feelings at the dinner. But after the meal, Biden admonished the prime minister in a statement, saying the move undermined a U.S. effort to persuade the Palestinians to resume peace talks. Later, Obama and Netanyahu’s relationship cratered as White House aides questioned the Israeli’s willingness to find accommodations with Palestinians and Sunni Arab countries to build a lasting peace in the region.
