Biden said Israel “can not say no” to a two-state solution when the war ends, but acknowledged the resolution is an uphill battle.
Topline
President Joe Biden delivered some of his most pointed criticism yet of Israel on Tuesday when he warned the country it was losing support globally, as tension has been mounting between the allies for weeks.Key Facts
Biden said Israel is “starting to lose that support” from the international community that existed in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, specifically pointing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to allow the Palestinian Authority—which opposes Hamas and oversees parts of the West Bank—to govern Gaza when the war between Israel and Hamas ends.
Netanyahu has expressed doubts about the Palestinian Authority’s ability to ensure Gaza is “demilitarized” and “deradicalized,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press last month, calling for a “different authority” to govern Gaza and expressing the need in other interviews for Israel to maintain an “overall security responsibility” over the region to ensure Hamas terrorists are kept at bay.
Speaking in broad terms about the Israeli government, Biden said Tuesday that Netanyahu “has to change this government,” calling it “the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” while specifically mentioning its divisive national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Tuesday’s statements follow similar comments from Biden on Monday at a White House Hanukkah reception, where he said the U.S. and Israel “have to be very careful” in their handling of the war moving forward, warning “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight,” and adding, “we can’t let that happen.”
The Biden administration, which expressed staunch support for Israel in the days after Oct. 7, has ramped up its critical rhetoric in recent weeks, not only surrounding Israel’s post-war plans, but also about hostage negotiations, violence toward Palestinians from Israeli settlers in the West Bank and concerns Israel is not doing enough to mitigate a growing Palestinian death toll, which surpassed 18,000 this week, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
