President Biden and other senior U.S. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration’s recent requests related to the war in Gaza, four U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack 100 days ago, Biden has given Israel his full backing, with unprecedented military and diplomatic support, even while taking a political hit from part of his base in an election year. That support has largely continued publicly, but behind the scenes, there are growing signs that Biden is losing his patience, the U.S. officials said.
- “The situation sucks and we are stuck. The president’s patience is running out,” one U.S. official told Axios.
- “At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has been in close contact with U.S. officials about the war, told Axios. “They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again.”
Behind the scenes: Biden hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu in the 20 days since a tense Dec. 23 call, which a frustrated Biden ended with the words: “This conversation is over.” They had spoken almost every other day in the first two months of the war.
- Before Biden hung up, Netanyahu had rejected his request that Israel release the Palestinian tax revenues it’s withholding.
- National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to downplay the decrease in communication, telling reporters on Wednesday that “it doesn’t say anything” about the state of the relationship.
- But more and more signs of irritation are emerging. “There is immense frustration,” a U.S. official said.
The fact that I’m mad about it right now must mean I only just learned, very nice deduction. Be careful, or we all may drown in your half assed attempts at wit. I’m fully aware of how the US has been sending shit tons of money and weapons to Israel since the very start. Biden is going even harder on it than average. He’s bypassed congress to send more military aid multiple times since October 7th, and taken multiple opportunities to spread IDF disinformation like Hamas beheading babies. Genocide joe is exceptionally shitty in this regard, and the longer he keeps supporting the genocide while barely paying lip service to the idea of peace (or even just not committing as much genocide for a bit) the less likely he is to get my vote. Yes, this means a republican is more likely to win. The solution is for democrats to stop offering up geriatric genocidal neolibs for president
Making it clear that you understand the budget as little as you understand the history of military conflicts is not helping your cause.
Try to open your eyes and look at the other achievements this administration has accomplished instead acting surprised and throwing a tantrum about a conflict that has been going on for two lifetimes.