US President Joe Biden said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have stood firm in ending the Gaza war for political reasons, according to an interview published by Time magazine on Tuesday.
The comments in the May 28 interview were made a few days before Biden detailed a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, and as the Israeli prime minister struggles with deep political divisions at home.
Asked whether he thought Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political reasons, Biden said: “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”
Biden, who has been pushing for an end to the nearly eight-month war, also said it was “uncertain” whether Israeli forces have committed war crimes in Gaza.
He rejected allegations that Israel is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, but said: “I think they’ve engaged in activity that is inappropriate.”
Biden said he warned Israel not to make the same mistake the U.S. did after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that led to “endless wars.”
“And they’re making that mistake,” he said.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer, asked about the interview, said it was “outside the diplomatic norms of every right-thinking country” for Biden to make such comments about Netanyahu.
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Last month, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor in The Hague requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense chief, as well as three Hamas leaders, over alleged war crimes.
Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza last October vowing to destroy the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas after it attacked inside Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Around 120 hostages remain in Gaza.
The Israeli assault has killed more than 36,000 people in Gaza, according to health authorities there, who say thousands more bodies are buried under rubble.
Opinion polls show most Israelis support the war but blame Netanyahu for the security failures when Hamas gunmen rampaged through Israeli communities near Gaza on Oct. 7, and would vote him out if there were an election.
Mass street protests have become weekly events, drawing tens of thousands demanding the government do more to bring home hostages seized by Hamas in Oct. 7 and calling for Netanyahu to go.
