President Joe Biden warned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that Israel might lose international support over its post-war plans for Gaza.
At a Democratic fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Biden called the current Israeli government the “most conservative government in Israel’s history” and added that Netanyahu “doesn’t want a two-state solution,” which Biden said needs to change.
“Israel’s security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world. . . . But they’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said.
Netanyahu admitted in a video on Tuesday that he and Biden have a “disagreement” over post-war plans for Gaza. Biden has said that the Palestinian Authority should take control of post-war Gaza, while Netanyahu said that he “will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo.” The Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s, which ruled Gaza until Hamas took over in 2007.
“Yes, there is a disagreement about the day after Hamas and I hope we will reach an agreement here as well. After the great sacrifice of our civilians and soldiers I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism support terrorism and finance terrorism. Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan,” Netanyahu said in a video on Tuesday.
Biden has said that the U.S. won’t support post-war solutions that include Israeli authority in Gaza. His administration has instead called for a “concentrated effort” toward a two-state solution.
“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that’s going to be the hard part,” Biden said on Monday at a White House Hanukkah reception. “In the meantime, we’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process. Not a single thing.”
“We’ll continue to provide military assistance to Israel until they get rid of Hamas, but we have to be careful — they have to be careful,” Biden also said on Monday. “The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight, we can’t let that happen.”