Biden in contradictory statement: No 'red line' in defense of 'Israel'
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US President Joe Biden makes a contradictory statement, saying there are red lines that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu cannot cross, like an attack on Rafah, while also reiterating that Washington has no red lines in supplying weapons to "Israel".
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President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Philadelphia, on Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP)
US President Joe Biden stressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions towards Gaza are detrimental to "Israel", causing more harm than benefit and leading to a global backlash against the occupation entity.
"He [Netanyahu] has the right to defend Israel, the right to continue to pursue Hamas, but he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken," Biden said in an interview to the MSNBC broadcaster, adding that in his opinion, Netanyahu "is hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world" to go against what "Israel stands for", which is a "big mistake."
The US president pointed out, however, that Washington does not have any "red lines" concerning Israeli actions in Gaza. "I will never leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there is no red line," Biden added.
Biden's statement reflects hypocrisy, as he stands by Israeli actions while also criticizing Netanyahu's government for its aggression against the Gaza Strip.
'Over the top'? not so much
Earlier last month, in an unexpected address to Americans on February 9th, Biden criticized the Israeli 'response' to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood launched by Hamas as "over the top".
"I'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top," the Democrat told reporters at the White House.
There is no doubt that the United States' backing of the Israeli aggression against Gaza has led to a surge in attacks on US troops in the region, along with criticism of the Biden administration both domestically and internationally.
However, he didn't do anything to stop the ongoing Israeli atrocities on the Palestinian people. That said, earlier this week, a report in the Economist titled "Joe Biden is exasperated by Israel but will not stop its war" states that Biden has recently harshened his tone towards "Israel" as he stated that he would accept “no excuses” for still preventing humanitarian aid into Gaza as pressure on him has been elevating amid the continuous deliberate killing of Palestinians, their starvation and looming diseases.
According to the report, one of the ways Biden has expressed his disapproval of Netanyahu is his administration meeting with Benny Gantz on March 4th and 5th his administration, whom the US considers a "centrist" member of "Israel’s" war cabinet, as a substitute prime minister, giving him meetings with the vice-president, Kamala Harris, and the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, among others which triggered Netanyahu as he has not had such a meeting yet.
