Biden swore at Netanyahu, threatened to cut off weapons in 2024 – report

New book by senior Biden administration official claims President Biden cursed at Netanyahu and threatened to halt aid.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Former President Joe Biden threatened to cut off US military assistance to Israel during an explosive April 2024 phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a new firsthand account by one of Biden’s top advisers.

The confrontation came at one of the tensest moments in US-Israel relations during the Gaza war, just days after an Israeli strike mistakenly killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers and as the Biden administration received intelligence that Iran was preparing a massive direct attack on Israel.

Brett McGurk, who served as Biden’s White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, describes the April 4 call in his upcoming book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages.

McGurk recounts entering the Oval Office to find Biden visibly furious as senior officials debated how far Washington should go in pressuring Israel.

When the call with Netanyahu was connected, Biden immediately confronted the Israeli prime minister.

“Bibi, man, what the f*ck are you doing?” Biden said, according to McGurk.

“You think I’m Santa Claus? No Santa in Israel, pal.”

McGurk writes that Biden then told Netanyahu that he had the power to halt military assistance to Israel immediately, effectively leaving the country to defend itself without American support.

Netanyahu did not back down, responding that Israel would defend itself even if the United States stopped supplying it.

According to McGurk, Israeli officials came away with the impression that Washington might actually be preparing to cut off weapons shipments.

The call followed the April 1 Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza.

Israel acknowledged responsibility, described the incident as a grave mistake and dismissed two officers following an investigation.

The public White House account of the April 4 conversation was considerably more restrained than McGurk’s newly disclosed version.

Officials said at the time that Biden had told Netanyahu US policy toward the Gaza war would depend on Israel taking “specific, concrete, and measurable” action to protect civilians and humanitarian workers and increase aid entering the territory.

Israel responded within hours by approving steps to expand humanitarian access to Gaza, including reopening the Erez crossing and allowing aid shipments through the port of Ashdod.

Biden publicly declined the following day to say that he had threatened to terminate military assistance.

“I asked them to do what they’re doing,” Biden told reporters when questioned about the call.

Behind closed doors, however, McGurk said Biden was considering far more drastic measures.

The administration later went ahead with one significant restriction on weapons deliveries, withholding a shipment of 2,000-pound.

McGurk also discussed Israeli criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis.

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar told former Biden officials that the perception that Washington was restraining an Israeli operation in Rafah had strengthened Hamas’ negotiating position.

“That was your biggest mistake,” Bar told them, according to McGurk.