Foreign media: "Dramatic change", Biden issued harsh criticism of Netanyahu
2024-08-07
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According to reports from CNN and AFP, in an interview broadcast on April 9 local time, US President Biden said that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's approach to the Gaza issue was "wrong" and urged Israel to call for a ceasefire. AFP said Biden's remarks were one of his harshest criticisms of the Netanyahu government so far.
US President Biden Source: Reuters
Asked about Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict in an interview with the U.S. Spanish-language television network Univision, Biden said: “Well, I’ll tell you, I think his approach is wrong. I don’t agree with his approach.” He also referred to an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza a few days ago that killed seven rescue workers from the charity World Central Kitchen, calling it “outrageous.”
Biden added that he also called on Israel to agree to a ceasefire and that there is "no reason" not to provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. "What I'm calling on is for the Israeli side to call for a ceasefire and allow all the food and medicine (aid supplies) to come into the country over the next six to eight weeks. From Saudi Arabia to Jordan to Egypt, I've talked to everyone. They're ready to send (aid), they're ready to bring food in. I see no reason not to meet the medical and food needs of these people. It should be done now," Biden said in the interview.
Agence France-Presse said Biden's remarks on the ceasefire marked a shift in his rhetoric. He had previously claimed that the responsibility for reaching a ceasefire and releasing the detained persons lay with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). This interview highlights Biden's "dramatic shift in Israel policy" since the Israeli air strikes that killed aid workers in the "world's central kitchen" sparked global outrage.
Biden and Netanyahu Photo source: Visual China
Biden has been strongly supporting Israel since the outbreak of the current round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October last year, and it was not until a tense call with Netanyahu last week that he finally warned that if Israel did not change its practices in the Gaza Strip, the United States would be forced to change its policy. In the call on April 4, Biden said that Israel must immediately allow more aid and protect civilians, while urging the Israeli prime minister to "authorize his negotiators" to quickly reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
In response, Israel agreed on the 4th to open a new aid crossing point, and also announced its withdrawal from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on the 7th. Agence France-Presse said that relations between the United States and Israel remain tense because Netanyahu insisted that the date for Israel to launch a ground offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah has been set, while the United States strongly opposes this offensive plan.
AFP mentioned that as the US presidential election approaches, Biden is also facing growing opposition to his Gaza policy from Muslims and young voters in the United States, and his main allies are calling on him to change his policy.
