The White House welcomed the Israeli hostage raid that brought two captives home, and criticized the Palestinian casualties from the raid, amid tensions between the American and Israeli leaders, with NBC reporting that US President Joe Biden had, in private conversation with donors, called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an “a****le.”
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius blamed the tension on differences of opinion over how best to reach a deal to release the 136 hostages held by Hamas, in an interview with MSNBC on Monday.
“I do think we’re heading toward a showdown between Biden and Netanyahu over this desire the US has for de-escalation through hostage release negotiations,” Ignatius said.
“They’re coming to a crunch on that, and I’m told that Biden is prepared to be much tougher with Netanyahu if he doesn’t give way,” Ignatius told the network.
“The US wants the deal and the pause in fighting. Netanyahu keeps saying, ‘Let me keep going, we’re so close. We’re so close.’ And I think that’s emotionally at the heart of this.”
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a Hanukkah reception at the White House earlier this month. Biden proudly calls himself a Zionist, and it should not be taken for granted, says the writer. (credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
Leaders close to a breach?
The Washington Post itself ran a lead story about how the two leaders were close to a breach, as stories about the tensions between the two men who have historically disagreed with each other but who are otherwise friends, were leaked to the media.
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Biden has been under persistent attack from pro-Palestinian activists and the left-wing flank of the Democratic party for his strong support of Israel in its military campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza, in the aftermath of the terror group’s October 7 massacre attack on Israel.
Public support is critical to Biden, given that he has begun his re-election campaign. At issue is the swing state of Michigan which has a strong Palestinian population.
Biden himself made some of the disputes public when he told reporters late last week that the IDF conduct in Gaza had been “over the top,” concurrent to issuing a memorandum that globally linked US military aid with human rights in combat zones.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby struck a more positive note about Israel and downplayed the idea that Biden’s remarks spoke to a change in policy or rhetoric regarding Gaza, during a briefing with reporters before the Abdullah meeting.
“The president has been consistent about our concerns over civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure and the need for Israeli defense forces to act with precision and deliberateness and due caution,” Kirby said.
He spoke during a press briefing held after the IDF led a targeted mission overnight with aerial bombing to free two Israeli hostages, in which 67 Palestinians were killed, according to local health officials.
The Biden administration was “pleased to hear the news of two Israeli hostages freed last night by Israeli Defense Forces in Rafah after 128 days” Kirby said.
But, when asked about the Palestinian’s deaths he stated, that “the proper number of civilian casualties is zero.”Kirby stated, “We certainly mourn any loss of innocent life as the result of those [IDF] operations.”
He underscored, however, that despite the success of the IDF mission, the best way to secure the release of the remaining 136 hostages. Six of those hostages have dual Israeli-American citizenship.
“The greatest number of hostages safely released were done through a hostage deal, [through] a pause in the fighting. That is why we are putting so much effort into current negotiations. We believe that is the best way to get hostages in greater numbers for our safety,” Kirby said.
A hostage deal with a “prolonged humanitarian pause is also essential to bringing critical relief” to Palestinians in Gaza, he said.
Kirby underscored the importance of a hostage release: “There can be no enduring end to this crisis until Hamas releases the men and women they are holding hostage, all of them.”
The Biden administration continues to stand behind Israel, Kirby said.
“We are going to continue to support Israel. They have a right to defend themselves against Hamas. We are going to make sure they have the tools and capabilities to do that,” he said.
“But we want to make sure they do that in a way that fully accounts for the preservation of civilian life,” he said.
Among the issues of contention between Biden and Netanyahu has been the IDF plan for a military operation in Gaza, with many in the international community calling for Israel to refrain from such a step.
Biden has insisted that Netanyahu must present a credible plan for civilian safety during such a military operation. There are 1.3 million Palestinians in Rafah, many of whom fled there to escape IDF bombing in the north of the enclave.
Kirby stressed that the issue was civilian safety and not the operation itself.
“We never said that they can not go into Rafah to remove Hamas,” Kirby said, “Hamas remains a viable threat to the Israeli people and the IDF.
“They [the IDF] are going to continue operations against their leadership and their infrastructure as they should.
“We do not want to see another October 7. We do not believe it’s advisable to go in, in a major way in Rafah without a proper executable, effective, and credible plan for the safety of the more than a million Palestinians that are taking refuge in Rafah,” Kirby stated.
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