WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel is losing support worldwide amid its war with Hamas and a “change” to the government is needed to find a long-term solution to the conflict.
Biden made the remarks while speaking at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning.
“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said. He would then add that Israel “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”
He called out the far-right members of the Israeli government, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, for not wanting peace to the resolution.
“And, folks, look, if you think about it, one of the things that Bibi understands, I think, now — but I’m not sure Ben-Gvir and his war cabinet do, who I’ve spoken to several times — is that 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 supporting it,” Biden said. “But they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”
The remarks are the harshest criticism that Biden has given on the Israeli government’s military offensive in Gaza since the war began on October 7.
“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that’s going to be the hard part,” he said. “Bibi’s got a tough decision to make.”
Biden’s remarks came less than 24 hours after he spoke about the Israel-Hamas conflict at the White House’s Hanukkah reception Monday.
“I’ve had my differences with some Israeli leadership. I’ve known Bibi for 51 years,” he said. “We have to be careful. The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said more than 18,000 people have been killed in the territory since Oct. 7.
