Biden and Netanyahu have ‘not spoken in weeks’ as divide grows
JOE BIDEN has reportedly not spoken to Benjamin Netanyahu in three weeks amid a growing split between the pair over the Israeli prime minister’s handling of the war in Gaza.
The White House is dismayed by Mr Netanyahu’s lack of vision for ending the conflict and lack of support for future Palestinian governance of the enclave, Israel’s two leading newspapers reported yesterday.
The Israeli leader has ignored repeated US calls to discuss a post-war settlement, including allowing the Palestinian Authority to play a role in Gaza once it is rid of Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Biden have not held direct talks since a Dec 23 phone call, which the US president reportedly ended abruptly after Mr Netanyahu refused to release withheld tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, according to the Israeli media reports.
“This conversation is over,” Mr Biden was said to have told the Israeli leader before hanging up. The pair had previously spoken on a near-daily basis following Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on Israel.
On Saturday, the Israeli prime minister said that “nothing will stop us on the way to victory”, a comment widely seen as a nod to growing US frustration.
Before the end of last year, Washington was reportedly pressuring Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and to reduce civilian casualties.
Israel has since withdrawn some of its troops from northern Gaza and reduced the intensity of its airstrikes in some areas, but the Israeli leadership is yet to give any clear indication of when the war will end.
The US was also said to be concerned that Mr Netanyahu may see a possible expansion of fighting into southern Lebanon as a means of holding on to power in the face of criticism.
Mairaz Zonszein, a senior Israel analyst at the Crisis Group, said: “Netanyahu is prolonging this war to stay in power. He would tell his allies the US is pressuring him, and he can tell the US the far-right ministers are blocking him. He plays both sides.”
‘He would tell his allies the US is pressuring him, and he can tell the US the far-right are blocking him’