President Joe Biden and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ‘Have Not Spoken’ in 3 Weeks Due to Split Over Gaza War: Report
Jan. 15 2024, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reportedly “not spoken” in three weeks due to disagreements regarding the Gaza war, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come 100 days after the conflict between Israel and Hamas first started on October 7, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Biden and Netanyahu have not spoken in nearly one month.
According to the Telegraph, Biden is “dismayed” by the Israeli prime minister’s “lack of vision” for an end to the devastating conflict and “bothered” by Netanyahu’s “lack of support” for “future Palestinian governance” of Gaza.
Also surprising are reports that President Biden abruptly hung up the phone during a call with Netanyahu in December. That was the last time the two world leaders allegedly spoke.
“This conversation is over,” Biden reportedly said after Netanyahu refused to return previously withheld tax revenues back to the Palestinian Authority.
One Israeli newspaper recently warned the Israeli leader that he was setting their country on a “direct collision course with the U.S. administration,” according to the Telegraph.
Meanwhile, other sources familiar with the foreign policy relationship between Tel Aviv and Washington, D.C. claimed that Netanyahu was “playing both sides” to retain the support of the United States while simultaneously “prolonging” the war against Hamas.
“Netanyahu is prolonging this war to stay in power,” a senior Israel analyst named Mairaz Zonszein said on Monday.
“He would tell his allies the US is pressuring him, and he can tell the US the far-right ministers are blocking him,” Zonszein added. “He plays both sides.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, President Biden expressed support for Israel after Hamas attacked the nation and killed more than 1,400 citizens on October 7.
The 81-year-old U.S. leader flew to Tel Aviv shortly after the October 7 attack against southern Israel to meet with Netanyahu, and Biden later urged Congress to pass a security package for Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack.
“We can’t let petty partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation,” Biden said during a fiery Oval Office speech on October 19. “We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas win. I refuse to let that happen.”
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Flash forward to December, and President Biden suggested that his support for Israel was waning due to the “indiscriminate bombing” taking place against innocent citizens living in Gaza.
“They're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” President Biden said during a private fundraiser on December 12.
“[Netanyahu] has to change this government,” the president added last month. “This government in Israel is making it very difficult. [Netanyahu’s] got a tough decision to make. This is the most conservative government in Israel's history.”
According to sources familiar with the matter, Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on December 23.