Biden has set a “red line” for Israel. Netanyahu: The US president is wrong
Joe Biden said Benjamin Netanyahu's policies “harm Israel more than they help.” However, the Prime Minister of Israel has a completely different opinion. “The president of the United States is wrong,” he said.
US President Joe Biden gave an interview on MSNBC in which he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The American leader said that the Israeli prime minister's policy “harms Israel more than it helps.” – It must pay more attention to innocent victims who die as a result of the actions taken – he noted. “These civilian casualties are contrary to what Israel stands for, and I think that's a big mistake,” Biden added.
He also stated that Israel's invasion of Rafah, a city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, would be a crossing of the “red line.” – We cannot allow another 30,000 Palestinians to die – he emphasized. At the same time, however, he assured that the United States “will not leave” Israel and the supply of weapons necessary to maintain the “Iron Dome” will not be suspended.
Netanyahu comments on Biden's words
The Prime Minister of Israel referred to Joe Biden's statements in an interview for the Politico website. “US President Joe Biden is wrong when he says that I am harming my country with the way I wage war against Hamas,” Netanyahu said. As he argued, the “overwhelming majority” of Israelis support his policy. – I don't know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant that I was pursuing a private policy against the will of the majority of Israelis and that it was harmful to Israel's interests, then he was wrong on both counts, he stressed.
As Netanyahu stated, Israeli citizens say that “after destroying Hamas, the last thing we should do is rely on the Palestinian Authority, which educates its children for terrorism and pays for terrorism.”
Massacre in the Gaza Strip. Western politicians demanded explanations
Last week, the world was informed about the massacre that took place in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinians, Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd gathered around a humanitarian transport delivering food. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported at least 112 people killed and 760 injured.
CNN noted that Israel's narrative about these events changed over time. Initially, the Israel Defense Forces reported that the tragedy occurred when Palestinians tried to loot the trucks. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hargari then announced that two separate incidents had occurred. He also emphasized that there was no attack on the convoy and that Israeli tanks fired warning shots to disperse the crowd trampling around the trucks. The tanks themselves were supposed to be there to secure the transport.
Western politicians reacted to the dramatic reports from the Gaza Strip. “I am deeply concerned by the images from the Gaza Strip. Every effort should be made to investigate what happened and ensure transparency,” wrote the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, spoke in a similar tone. “People wanted supplies for themselves and their families and they died. The reports from Gaza shock me. The Israeli army must fully explain how mass panic and shooting could occur,” she appealed.