Far-right Israeli minister’s Biden criticism sparks anger, in sensitive time for U.S. ties
JERUSALEM — A far-right minister in Israel’s government has criticized President Biden and said that having Donald Trump in power would allow more freedom to fight Hamas. The comments sparked outrage Sunday among other Israeli officials and highlighted the sensitivity of relations as U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visits the region again this week.
The Biden administration has skirted Congress to rush weapons to Israel and shielded its ally from international calls for a cease-fire in the four months since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. But the White House has urged Israel to take greater measures to avoid harming civilians and to facilitate the delivery of aid to besieged Gaza.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Biden was hindering Israel’s war effort.
“Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza], which goes to Hamas,†Ben-Gvir said. “If Trump was in power, the U.S. conduct would be completely different.â€
His remarks drew fire from Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-man wartime Cabinet, who said Ben-Gvir was “causing tremendous damage†to American-Israeli relations. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, also posting on the social media platform X, said Ben-Gvir’s remarks prove that he “does not understand foreign relations.â€
While Gazans hold Israel principally responsible for their suffering, many also blame Hamas for not foreseeing the consequences of its Oct. 7 attack.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments as “racist†and called for international sanctions against him, saying he threatens the region’s stability.
Netanyahu, without mentioning Ben-Gvir by name, appeared to refer to his remarks when addressing a weekly Cabinet meeting.
“There are those who say no to everything, receiving applause at home, but they’re also endangering vital interests,†he said.
Ben-Gvir, along with other far-right figures, has called for “voluntary†mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and the return of Jewish settlements, which Israel dismantled when it withdrew troops from the territory in 2005. The Biden administration is opposed to such a scenario.
Ben-Gvir and other key members of the prime minister’s coalition have threatened to bring down the government if they believe Netanyahu is too soft on Hamas. Netanyahu told the Cabinet that the military was carrying out “very aggressive raids†in northern and central Gaza while dealing with remaining Hamas battalions around Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
The war in Gaza has leveled vast swaths of the tiny enclave, displaced 85% of its population and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation. The Health Ministry in Gaza said Sunday that 127 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the previous 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 27,365. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says most of those killed were women and children.
Civilian deaths in Gaza have fueled global outrage. But many Israelis, still raw from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, have scant interest in the war’s toll on Palestinians.
In central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit a house and mosque in Deir al Balah, killing 29 and wounding at least 60, including children, according to an Associated Press journalist who was at the scene. At Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a nurse cleaned the head injuries of a boy who sat between two other children, one trembling, the other in tears.
Palestinians found shelter at the hospital but little relief.
“Someone like me has been here for three months or 2½ months, and I haven’t had a shower. What can we do? We want to go back to our home,†said Basemah al Haddad, who was displaced from Gaza City.
Two children were killed in separate airstrikes in Rafah, according to the registration office at the hospital where the bodies were taken. The first hit a house in the Jeneina refugee camp, killing a 12-year-old. The second hit a room west of the Rafah border crossing, killing a 2-year-old.
The bodies lay on the hospital floor. A female relative bent down to gently touch one child’s face.
More humanitarian aid to Gaza will be a “top priority†as Blinken visits the region, Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told CBS. Blinken is set to begin Monday in Saudi Arabia and will stop in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.
More than three months into the Israel-Hamas war, the families of hostages held in Gaza have grown disillusioned with Israel’s military operations.
Another focus is Israel’s tense negotiations mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt aimed at freeing more than 100 captives taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in return for a cease-fire and the release of Palestinians jailed in Israel.
“It’s up to Hamas to come forward and respond to what is a serious proposal,†Sullivan told NBC, adding that there is no clear idea how many of the hostages remain alive.
Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted around 250. More than 100 captives, mostly women and children, were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians who were imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas has said it won’t release any more hostages until Israel ends its attacks. It also demands the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has publicly ruled out both demands.
Hamas is expected to respond to the latest cease-fire offer in the coming days.
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