US President Joe Biden is angry at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has called him an “as***le” in private conversations due to military disagreements over the Gaza war, NBC reported on Monday.
On other occasions, the President referred to Netanyahu as “this guy” and stated the Israeli Prime Minister was “giving him hell,” for disagreeing to the ceasefire deal, sources familiar with the conversations told NBC.
Biden’s comments come amid Israel’s plan for a military operation in Rafah, which the US is said to have some reservations about.
According to those in the know, the President blames Netanyahu for Israel’s refusal to shift military tactics in its war with Hamas, NBC said.
US: Rafah operation only with a ‘credible plan’ ensuring the safety of civilians
In a statement summarizing the Sunday phone call between the President and Netanyahu, the White House said that Biden “shared” Israel’s “goal to see Hamas defeated and to ensure the long-term security of Israel and its people.”
However, it also added Biden “called for urgent and specific steps to increase the throughput and consistency of humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians.
“And he reaffirmed his view that a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there.”
Regarding the relations between the two leaders, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said, “The president has been clear where he disagrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” adding, “but this is a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and in private.”
Earlier in February, Biden reportedly called Netanyahu a “bad f*****g guy” in private conversations, according to Politico.
The relationship between Biden and Netanyahu has been fraught with tensions in the past year due, among others, to the conduct of far-right members of the government and the judicial reform plan.
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