- The president said ‘I don’t think so’ when asked if Bibi was ‘playing politics’
- But in a new interview with Time he addressed whether Israel acted out of self-interest.
President Joe Biden credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for fighting a serious situation – not playing politics – when asked for his latest view of the war in Gaza that is complicating his own re-election.
The president answered a question at the end of a statement about his new executive order on immigration and asylum claims.
He took the off-topic question out of a clash of shouted questions after the event, as he sought new ground on an issue that has caused difficulties throughout his tenure.
A network journalist asked whether the embattled Israeli prime minister was “playing politics with the war.”
‘I do not think. He is trying to solve a serious problem that he has,” Biden responded, crediting Netanyahu with a good faith effort.
This followed Biden’s comments about Netanyahu in a new Time magazine interview on May 28, when Biden was asked if Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own survival.
“He’s trying to solve a serious problem that he has,” President Joe Biden said, when asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was playing politics with the war in Gaza.
‘I’m not going to comment on that. “There are many reasons for people to come to that conclusion,” Biden responded. He then cited an internal political fight in Israel over a constitutional court. ‘And then it is an internal debate that seems to have no consequences. And whether he would change his position or not, it’s hard to say, but it hasn’t been helpful,” he added.
But he seemed reluctant to criticize Netanyahu for being responsible for the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas attack inside Israel.
‘I don’t know how one person has that responsibility. He was the leader of the country, so that’s how it happened. But he wasn’t the only one who didn’t get it,” Biden said.
His rival Donald Trump had said that October 7 “should never have happened,” but it happened “on (Netanyahu’s) watch.”
Senior Democrats fear that Israel’s war in Gaza could expose divisions within the party, as a divisive conflict could last at least until the US elections in November. Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas.
Biden on Monday touted a gradual agreement to end the war, in a sign of the urgency of the issue, as American citizens remain held hostage in Gaza.
