Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to resolve his differences with President Joe Biden over the war in Gaza, but insisted he had “no choice” but to destroy Hamas, in an interview with talk show host Dr. Phil, which aired on Thursday night.
File Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and President Joe Biden can over come ... [+]
In an interview on the “Dr. Phil Primetime” show, taped before Biden’s threat to withhold weapons from Israel, Netanyahu said he has known the president for over 40 years and “we often had our agreements, but we've had our disagreements.”
The Israeli prime minister said they have overcome their disagreements in the past and he hoped “we can overcome them now.”
Netanyahu, however, insisted a ground assault on Rafah must happen—the sticking point that led to the Biden administration halting weapon supplies to Israel—as his forces have to destroy Hamas presence in the city, adding “rational-minded people understand that we don’t have a choice.”
The Israeli leader insisted that if Hamas is left intact, “they’ll take over Gaza again…they'll do October 7…again, again and again.”
In a video statement released earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu dismissed the U.S. threat to halt weapon supplies, saying his country is prepared to stand alone and “fight with our fingernails,” if necessary.
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During the Dr. Phil interview, Netanyahu lashed out against college campus protests in the U.S. and also appeared to take a veiled shot at Biden and other world leaders who have been critical of him and Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war. The Israeli prime minister said some world leaders privately told him Hamas needs to be destroyed, but then “when they are faced with the pressure of all this propaganda, all this madness in the campuses… they begin to fray.” Netanyahu then attacked the campus protests, saying, “When they say ‘from the river to the sea,’ that’s wipe out the State of Israel. They’re supporting genocide.” The Israeli leader then claimed the protests reflected “a sorry state of American education…There’s a deep rot and a bankruptcy there.” When asked about antisemitism in the U.S., Netanyahu blamed “a fusion of radical Islam and the ultra-anarchist left.”