In the first response of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to statements by US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu said, on Sunday, that he is not implementing his own policy, but rather a policy agreed upon by the vast majority of Israelis.
On Saturday, the US President said that Netanyahu is doing “more harm than good to Israel” with the way he managed the war in Gaza, noting that the decisions he took that caused the killing of civilians “is a big mistake.”
In an interview with MSNBC, Biden said, “Netanyahu has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas”. But “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken,” adding, “In my view, he is hurting Israel more than helping Israel.”
For his part, Netanyahu said in a televised interview conducted with Politico newspaper on Sunday that the majority of Israelis support the war to eliminate the Hamas movement, reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, and do not want the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza, as he described it.
Netanyahu added in the interview: “I don’t know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that, that I’m pursuing private policies against the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts.”
He continued: “These are not my private policies only”. Netanyahu further said, “These are policies supported by the overwhelming majority of the Israelis. They support the action that we’re taking to support the remaining terrorist battalions of Hamas.
He additionally expressed that “the last thing” Israel ought to do is allow the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after the war, and that “we should resoundingly reject the attempt to ram down our throats a Palestinian state.”
He continued: “The majority of Israelis understand that if we don’t do this, what we will have is a repetition of the October 7 massacre, which is bad for Israel, bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the future of peace in the Middle East.”
He added: “So the attempt to say that my policies are my private policies that are not supported by most Israelis is false. The vast majority are united as never before. And they understand what’s good for Israel. They understand what’s important for Israel. And I think they’re right.”
He explained: “There is no red line (in which) I want to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome (air defense system) to protect them.” The president added, “there’s red lines that if he(Netanyahu) crosses.” “You cannot continue to have 30000 more Palestinians dead.”
Biden said: “There are other ways to deal… with… the trauma caused by Hamas,” referring to the attack carried out by the movement on October 7 in southern Israel, which Israel says led to the death of 1,200 people.
The US President stressed that Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives lost as a result of the measures taken.”
