What Netanyahu thinks about Gaza, Biden’s reaction to the war

JERUSALEM — In about a month, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will come to Washington to address a joint congress. Israel is embroiled in a bloody war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, is on the brink of a possible conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and is still reeling from the Iranian airstrikes and the terrorist attack on October 7. More than 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas militias.

The upcoming speech on 24 July in the House of Representatives will be one of the most controversial in recent American history. Some Democrats Call Netanyahu a war criminal. Republicans adore him. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has demanded Netanyahu should resign.

Against this background that we went to Jerusalem on Thursday to interview Netanyahu. We discussed a wide range of topics with the long-serving Israeli prime minister, including Netanyahu’s sharp disagreements with President Joe Biden, his views on Congress, pro-Palestinian protests in the United States, and the wave of civilian deaths in Gaza during the nearly nine-month war.

Netanyahu’s remarks and his visit to Washington must be seen against the backdrop of the tense political situation in Israel. Netanyahu is facing unprecedented domestic political turmoil. His upcoming US trip and tough stance on Biden could help him win support here, despite a fierce backlash in the White House.

Read the full transcript Here.

The Biden administration. Netanyahu caused great consternation in Washington this week when he posted a video to X, who said it was “inconceivable” that the Biden administration had stopped arms deliveries to Israel. Senior administration officials, including the NSC spokesman John Kirby, firmly reject the accusation.

The White House has cancelled a high-level meeting with their Israeli counterparts on Iran to express their displeasure. Biden has said he only held back the delivery of heavy bombs, even though his administration approved billions of dollars worth of arms sales to Israel during the Gaza war.

Pro-Israel Democrats Israeli politicians were also angry, saying Netanyahu should keep his differences with the president to himself and accusing Netanyahu of turning Israel into a partisan issue by openly supporting Republicans.

But Netanyahu did not Netanyahu said he was grateful for the support from the White House, but the only way for Israel to avoid a full-scale war with Hezbollah is for the US to resume all arms supplies:

“I am deeply grateful to President Biden and the U.S. government for the support they have given to our war effort from the beginning. President Biden came here, he sent two carrier groups, and he gave us valuable assistance and ammunition and weapons from the beginning of the war. I appreciate that and I will continue to do so.”

“We recognized several months ago that we had significant problems. And in fact, in many, many confidential conversations between our officials and American officials, between me and the president, we tried to resolve these problems… But we could not resolve them. Now this is critical. Having this supply is critical to our shared war goals of defeating Hamas and preventing an escalation in Lebanon into a full-scale war.

“I discussed this issue with Secretary Blinken. And I said that our officials at the Department of Defense are telling us that there is hardly any money coming in. He said, ‘Well, everything is in the works. We are doing everything we can to solve the problem and eliminate the bottlenecks.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s what I expect. Let’s make it happen.’ It has to happen. …

“I felt it was absolutely necessary to address it after months of silent conversations had failed to resolve the issue.”

White House staff referred to Kirby’s comments in response to Netanyahu.

The open question The issue here is whether Netanyahu – and Israel in general – is prepared for war with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that is escalating hostilities in southern Lebanon and also planning attacks on Israel. Or whether Netanyahu is trying to drag Biden into the issue by blaming him for a war in Lebanon.

Hassan Nasrallah, The leader of Hezbollah, warned Israel about a large-scale war on Thursday.

We asked Netanyahu if he felt the Biden administration wanted to solve the gun problem. His answer: “I think it could be solved immediately with goodwill – it could be solved immediately.” That wasn’t exactly a glowing recommendation for us.

How long will Israel fight in the Gaza Strip? One of the most important questions we are being asked by lawmakers from both parties is how long Israel’s war in Gaza will last. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have already died, while Hamas still holds over 100 hostages, including Americans. Netanyahu said that if he had the weapons he wants from the US, Israel could end the fighting much sooner:

“Hezbollah and Iran are well aware that there have been disruptions. They interpret this as some kind of rift between Israel and the United States. And the only way to end this is to speak openly and make sure this is corrected as soon as possible.”

“It is not about continuing the war indefinitely. It is first about winning the war in the Gaza Strip quickly. And second, about preventing a war on the Lebanese front.”

US officials, including Biden, are questioning whether Netanyahu prolonged the war for his own political reasons.

Civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. More than 37,000 Palestinians have died since the Israeli invasion of Gaza began. according to the Palestinian authorities. Aid workers, women and children were all killed by the Israeli army. Netanyahu said Israel had “done everything” to avoid civilian casualties and said the criticism was “similar to the ritual murder legend that was raised against the Jewish people in the Middle Ages and in modern times.”

Netanyahu claims that only a few dozen civilians were killed in Rafah, seeking to undermine US claims that any military incursion would be dangerous for the hundreds of thousands of Gazans who have fled there. Netanyahu also said that the ratio of civilians killed to fighters killed was about one to one.

This is not a comment that will please the Democrats on Capitol Hill.

—Jake Sherman