WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ‘s growing frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to mount, with the Democrat captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.” The comments by Biden came as he spoke with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on the floor of the House chamber following Thursday night’s State of the Union address. In the exchange, Bennet congratulates Biden on his speech and urges the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation.
Biden then responds using Netanyahu’s nickname, saying, “I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.”
Biden reportedly to limit aid to Israel after a Rafah invasion
United States President Joe Biden is allegedly considering conditioning future military aid to Israel if the country goes forward with a sizeable invasion of Rafah, Politico reported, citing four US officials. “It’s something he’s definitely thought about,” one of the officials told the news agency. Biden shared with MSNBC on Saturday that “The defense of Israel is still critical. So there’s no red line [where] I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them,” stressing, however, that “You cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.” Officials cited by the news agency claimed that Biden may limit future weapons transfers to Israel should the country launch a new military operation that would further endanger Palestinian lives.
Netanyahu responds to Biden hot mic remark
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Monday to President Biden’s hot mic remark after the State of the Union address where he suggested he needs to have a meeting with the prime minister over the escalating situation in Gaza. Netanyahu was asked Monday on “Fox & Friends” to respond to Biden’s comment that he planned to have a “come to Jesus” meeting with the prime minister about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Fox News host Will Cain asked Netanyahu what a “come to Jesus meeting” means to him. “I don’t know. I’m not familiar with the term, even though Jesus wasn’t born that far away from here,” Netanyahu responded. “I can tell you that if it means having a heart-to-heart conversation, we’ve had that plenty of times over the 40 years that I’ve known Joe Biden and over the 12 or 13 conversations that we’ve had since the beginning of the war.” Netanyahu said on “Fox & Friends” that Israel will not be “getting off the gas” in its Gaza attacks. He said that while Israel will try to minimize civilian casualties, its priority is to defeat Hamas, even if that means invading Rafah. “Well, I’m telling you that we’re not getting off the gas. I’m telling you that we have to take care of Israel’s security in our future, and that requires eliminating the terrorist army. That’s a prerequisite for victory. That victory is important not only for us, it’s important for the civilized world as we’re fighting these barbarians.
“And that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to defeat Hamas. We’re going to do what is necessary to minimize civilian casualties, do the humanitarian aid, something that we believe in. But we have to destroy this terrorist Nazi army. Otherwise, there’s no future for anyone in the Middle East,” he added later on.
Biden has been ramping up his public frustrations with Netanyahu in recent weeks as Israel plans to invade the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million civilians had fled to seek refuge from the war. He announced during his State of the Union address that the U.S. would be setting up a temporary pier near the territory to deliver more humanitarian supplies. Biden said in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart on Saturday that Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping.”
“What’s happening is he has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas,” Biden said. “But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”
Netanyahu responded to Biden’s remarks to Capehart in an interview with Politico. “I don’t know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that, that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts,” Netanyahu said. NN: Biden is feeling the heat as the world turns on Israel.
NN:
Psalm 83
O God, Do Not Keep Silence
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
1O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot