President Biden coming to grips with the fact that he is unlikely to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip before leaving office, aides say, and is increasingly venting his frustrations with Netanyahu, regularly shouting at him over the phone.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
President Joe Biden has acknowledged that he is unlikely to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization, and administration officials are increasingly open about the president venting his frustrations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The New York Times reported Monday.
According to the report, which cited aides to the president, Biden is “beginning to acknowledge” that with less than four months left in office, time is running out on a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
With few prospects for a breakthrough in the near future and amid growing fears of a second full-scale war in the region – this time between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group – Biden is said to be coming to grips with the fact that a deal is unlikely to be reached while he remains in office.
The White House is reported taking aim at Netanyahu as administration officials express “exasperation” over the Israeli government.
According to the report, members of Biden’s national security team do little to hide their frustrations regarding the Israeli premier, and openly discuss the president’s “shouting matches” with Netanyahu during telephone calls.
U.S. envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross, who was responsible for brokering interim agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority during the 1990s, told the Times that Netanyahu and Biden have fundamentally opposing views of Israel’s goals in the war, with Netanyahu pursuing the removal of existential threats to the Jewish state, while Biden is seeking a path towards a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The two leaders, Ross continued, never agreed on the purpose or extent of the war against Hamas – much less the current conflict with Hezbollah – thus making the current friction inevitable.