‘Don’t make the same mistakes we made at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan at 9/11.’
By World Israel News Staff
President Joe Biden on Tuesday expressed strong criticism towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his “most conservative” coalition, and said that international support for Israel was “waning” in light of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza.
“I think [Netanyahu] has to change,” Biden said at a campaign fundraiser in Washington, hosted by former AIPAC board chair Lee Rosenberg.
Biden, while acknowledging Netanyahu as “a good friend,” said his government, which was “the most conservative in Israel’s history” was making it “very difficult for him to move.”
Singling out National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Biden lamented the demise of the two-state solution for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Ben Gvir and company and the new folks don’t want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution.”
Biden recalled a conversation with Netanyahu in which the American president advised his Israeli counterpart against repeating mistakes made by the U.S., like the post-9/11 actions in Afghanistan. He underscored the critical support Israel receives globally, warning that “they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”
“It was pointed out to me — I’m being very blunt with you all — it was pointed out to me that, by Bibi, that ‘Well, you carpet-bombed Germany. You dropped the atom bomb. A lot of civilians died,’” Biden said.
“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s why all these institutions were set up after World War Two to see to it that it didn’t happen again — it didn’t happen again. Don’t make the same mistakes we made at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to do some of the things we did.”
“They not only want to have retribution — which they should — for what Hamas did, but against all Palestinians… They don’t want anything to with the Palestinians,” he said.
Biden didn’t spare Palestinian leaders from criticism either, though he didn’t clarify whether his remarks were aimed at Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. “The Palestinians have not been governed well at all,” he commented.
But he went on to stress that Netanyahu needs to make moves to strengthen the PA. “You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future,” Biden emphasized.
His comments come days after Netanyahu compared the PA to Hamas, saying that the only difference between them was the methods they used to reach the common goal of destroying Israel. The PA, he claimed, aims to dismantle Israel in stages, while Hamas seeks its immediate destruction.