JERUSALEM — Criticism of President Joe Biden by a right-wing minister in the Israeli government who said Donald Trump would allow more freedom to fight Hamas sparked anger there on Sunday, highlighting the sensitivity of the relationship as Washington provides key support for attacks on militants in Gaza.
The Biden administration has been circling Congress to rush arms to Israel and shield it from international calls for a ceasefire in the four months since the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war.
But the White House has urged Israel to take greater steps to avoid harming civilians and facilitate the delivery of more aid to besieged Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel again this week in his latest visit to the region.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Biden was blocking Israel’s war effort.
“Instead of giving us full support, Biden is busy giving humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes to Hamas,” Ben-Gvir said. “If Trump comes to power, US behavior will be completely different.”
His remarks drew criticism from Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Netanyahu’s three-man War Cabinet, who said Ben-Gvir had “caused enormous damage” to American-Israeli relations.
Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed in an interview that President Biden is blocking Israel’s war effort against Hamas. Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, also posting on X, said Ben-Gvir’s statement proved that he “doesn’t understand foreign relations.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced Ben-Gvir’s comments as “racist” and called for international sanctions against him, saying he threatens the stability of the region.
Netanyahu, without mentioning Ben-Gvir by name, appeared to be referring to his remarks while addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The prime minister thanked Biden for his support while highlighting his own experience in dealing with the US administration’s various approaches to Israel’s most important alliance.
Ben-Gvir said that US behavior would be “completely different” if former President Donald Trump took office. Image by Kyle Mazza/SOPA via ZUMA Press Wire
“There are those who say ‘no’ to everything, receive applause at home, but they also endanger important interests,” he said.
Ben-Gvir, along with other right-wing figures, has called for a “voluntary” mass exodus of Palestinians from Gaza and for the return of Jewish settlements, which Israel dismantled when it withdrew troops from the territory in 2005. The Biden administration opposed to any such scenario.
Ben-Gvir and other key members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have threatened to bring down the government if they believe he is too soft on Hamas.
Smoking increases after Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip on February 4, 2024. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
Netanyahu told the Cabinet that the army was carrying out “very aggressive raids” in northern and central Gaza while dealing with the remaining Hamas battalions around Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
The war in Gaza has flattened large areas of the tiny enclave, leaving 85% of its population homeless and pushing a quarter of its population into starvation.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said 127 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 27,365.
The ministry did not distinguish between civilians and fighters but said most of those killed were women and children.
Israeli soldiers drive a tank near the border of the Gaza Strip on February 4, 2024. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
In central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit a house and mosque in Deir al-Balah and killed 15 people and wounded at least 45 others, including children, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
At Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a man wept next to a corpse covered in a blanket.
Other Palestinians found refuge in hospitals but little relief. “Someone like me has been here for three months or two and a half months, and I haven’t showered. What can we do? We want to return to our homes,” said Basemah Al-Haddad, who was evacuated from Gaza City.
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Two children were killed in separate airstrikes in Rafah, according to the registry office at the hospital where the bodies were taken.
The first hit a house in the Jeneina refugee camp and killed a 12-year-old child. The second hit a room west of the Rafah border, killing a 2-year-old child.
The body was lying on the hospital floor. A sister bends down to gently touch a child’s face.
More aid to Gaza will be a “top priority” when Blinken visits the region, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CBS.
Palestinians look at a burning car after it was hit during Israeli shelling in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on February 4, 2024. AP Photo/Hatem Al
Blinken is set to begin his tour Monday in Saudi Arabia and will also make stops in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.
Another focus is Israel’s tense negotiations brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt aimed at freeing more than 100 remaining prisoners captured in the October 7 Hamas attack in return for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
“It’s up to Hamas to come forward and respond to serious proposals,” Sullivan told NBC, adding there was no clear idea how many hostages were still alive.
Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in attacks on October 7 and kidnapped about 250 people.
More than 100 prisoners, mostly women and children, were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas says it will not release any more hostages until Israel ends its offensive. It also demanded the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu publicly rejected both claims.
Hamas is expected to respond to the latest ceasefire offer in the coming days.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
