Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has now openly defied Joe Biden after he responded to the latter’s demands that Israel cease its anti-terror operations against Hamas in the Gaza strip by stating that Israel would continue until its national security goals had been fully met.
As The Israel Times reports:
US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Wednesday phone call that he expects “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” as Washington stepped up pressure on Jerusalem to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip after 10 days.
During their fourth call since the start of the Gaza conflict, “the two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States,” according to a White House readout.
Unlike the previous three calls, the readout made no mention of Biden backing Israel’s right to defend itself, which critics said was a nod to Israel to continue striking in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s rebuff is likely to be seen as a major embarrassment to the Biden Administration:
Following the phone call with Biden, Netanyahu said: “I am determined to continue this operation until its goal is achieved — to bring back peace and security to you, the citizens of Israel.”
There were lots of comments here these last few days. What happened to them all?
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