Israel needs new govt, Biden tells Netanyahu in rare, harsh rebuke

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: Biden’s stinging remarks at a fundraising event for his re-election campaign were a further sign of growing US concern at Israel’s relentless campaign against Gaza, in which over 18,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed so far.
“They’re starting to lose that support,” the president said, referring to the international community’s alarm at the bloodshed in Gaza and the West Bank.
The stunning censure came as Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, prepares to travel to the Jewish state for talks with the Israeli cabinet.
Netanyahu had said last week that Israel enjoys US support for its goal of destroying Hamas and recovering prisoners, but the allies differ about what might follow the Gaza fighting.
Biden specifically mentioned Israel’s far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is national security minister, and said “this is the most conservative government in Israel’s history”.
“He (Netanyahu) has to change this government. This government in Israel is making it very difficult,” Joe Biden said.
He also said that, ultimately, Israel “can’t say no” to a Palestinian state, which many Israeli hardliners oppose.
Biden said “we have an opportunity to begin to unite the region  and they still want to do it. But we have to make sure that Bibi (Netanyahu) understands that he’s got to make some moves to strengthen.
Sullivan said on Tuesday that during his visit to Israel he will discuss with Israeli officials their timetable for an end to the Gaza operation “The subject of how they are seeing the timetable of this war will certainly be on the agenda for my meetings,” said Sullivan, who is expected to travel later this week.
The US president has expressed strong support for Israel’s military operation against Hamas, but he and his team have expressed growing concern about the death of Palestinian civilians.
Biden plans to meet family members of Ameri­cans taken prisoner by Hamas at the White House on Wednesday (today).
Sullivan blamed Hamas for the breakdown of a truce from Nov 24 to Dec 1 because they “refused to release” more prisoners.
“Hamas to this day continues to hold women, elderly people, and civilians in significant numbers. And yet still, its saying: `Hey, how about everybody just stops.’ So we believe that Israel has the right to defend itself,” he said.
The ‘day after’
Middle East leaders attending an annual gathering in Qatar sought ideas for what happens after the fighting ends in Gaza, but remained firmly opposed to putting their own troops or international forces into the ravaged territory.
At the annual Doha Forum that ended on Monday, Qatar reiterated that no Arab country would send in forces to stabilize the situation after the guns fall silent in Gaza.
“No one from the region will accept to put boots on the ground. This is un­ac­ceptable,” said Qatar’s Prime Minister Moham­med bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
But he also opposed any international force in Gaza under current conditions. “We shouldn’t always talk about the Palestinians as if they need some guardian,” he said.
The Palestinians were represented by the Pales­tinian Authority, which has power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but not in Gaza, which is in the hands of Hamas. Despite their rivalry, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Hamas could not be eradicated. They are “an integral part of the Palestinian political mosaic”, he told the forum.
The United States has previously indicated the Palestinian Authority could govern both Gaza and the West Bank in the aftermath of hostilities.
Netanyahu reiterated in a statement his past refusal to countenance a return to Gaza rule of the Western-backed Palestinian Autho­rity under President Mah­mud Abbas. “Gaza will be neither Hamas-stan nor ‘Fatah-stan’”.
“I would like to clarify my position: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo,” Netan­yahu said without clarifying which mistake he was referring to. The 1993 Oslo Accords established limited Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza.
On Tuesday, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Pales­tine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al Sheikh, respon­ded to reports that the Israeli premier had compared the Oslo Accords to the Hamas raid on Oct 7 by saying both had caused a similar amount of Israeli deaths.
Al Sheikh said that Netanyahu’s statement equating the Oslo Accords with what happened on Oct 7 confirms his aggression against all Palestinians./Dawn news