Netanyahu fires back at Ben-Gvir's remarks on insufficient US support

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Feb 2024 19:39
2 Shares

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed gratitude for the support received from the Biden administration during the war on Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, convenes the weekly cabinet meeting at the Security Ministry in "Tel Aviv", occupied Palestine, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 (Pool via AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday responded to criticism from one of his cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir, widely known for his extremist statements and also acts as "Israel's" Minister of Internal Security.

In a Wall Street Journal report issued earlier in the day, Ben-Gvir told the newspapers that US President Joe Biden did not do enough to support "Israel" in its genocidal campaign.

He noted that if Trump were to be President instead of Biden, he would have approached the matter differently.

"Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes to Hamas," Ben-Gvir told the newspaper. "If (former US president Donald) Trump was in power, the US conduct would be completely different."

Ahead of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu told reporters: "We greatly appreciate the support that we have received from the Biden administration since the outbreak of the war."

"I don't need help to know how to navigate our relations with the US and the international community while standing firm on our national interests," he said.

"We make our own decisions, even in those cases where there is no agreement with our American friends."

Relations between Netanyahu and Biden have allegedly been on a downhill lately, particularly since Saudi Arabia imposed the condition of Palestinian statehood in order to normalize relations with "Israel."

Ben-Gvir's criticism of Biden followed Washington's decision to impose sanctions on four settlers. This move came in response to escalating violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.

Commenting on the violence, Biden remarked that the situation had reached "intolerable levels" as he approved sanctions last week.

In the occupied West Bank, roughly 490,000 settlers live among three million Palestinians, residing in settlements deemed illegal under international law.

Netanyahu struggles to restrain genocidal remarks in cabinet

A report by Politico on Friday revealed that Netanyahu is facing multiple challenges ahead of the next hearing at the ICJ, one of the primary issues being his apparent inability to silence genocidal voices within his Cabinet.

Last week, ministers and lawmakers participated in a pro-settlement conference in occupied Al-Quds, advocating for the building of Israeli settlements in Gaza post-war. This contradicts Netanyahu's claim that "Israel" has "no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population."

Some observers point out that extremist coalition partners may not want to trigger a regime collapse but may seek to weaken centrists and force them to leave the war cabinet.

Netanyahu's second challenge involves the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. With "Israel" throttling back its military aggression, this enabled the resistance to regroup its forces in the North of the Strip.

This poses a serious dilemma for Netanyahu as resuming airstrikes to weaken the resistance may exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, putting him once again at odds with the ICJ.