President Biden and other senior U.S. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration's recent requests related to the war in Gaza, four U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack 100 days ago, Biden has given Israel his full backing, with unprecedented military and diplomatic support, even while taking a political hit from part of his base in an election year. That support has largely continued publicly, but behind the scenes, there are growing signs that Biden is losing his patience, the U.S. officials said.
- "The situation sucks and we are stuck. The president's patience is running out," one U.S. official told Axios.
- "At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has been in close contact with U.S. officials about the war, told Axios. "They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again."
Behind the scenes: Biden hasn't spoken to Netanyahu in the 20 days since a tense Dec. 23 call, which a frustrated Biden ended with the words: "This conversation is over." They had spoken almost every other day in the first two months of the war.
- Before Biden hung up, Netanyahu had rejected his request that Israel release the Palestinian tax revenues it's withholding.
- National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to downplay the decrease in communication, telling reporters on Wednesday that "it doesn't say anything" about the state of the relationship.
- But more and more signs of irritation are emerging. "There is immense frustration," a U.S. official said.
These people got tricked and they cannot believe evidence before their eyes.
This is the equivalent to thinking someone is going to win a marathon if they are limping and have slowed to a walk after 400 feet.
There were 150 times more Iraqi civilians killed per capital in the US war in Iraq and I have never once heard a single person call it a genocide.
Israel has the ability to level Gaza and the West Bank and kill every Palestinian person within about twenty minutes and yet they have not done so.
Instead, were three months into this "genocide" and 99.996% of the Palestinian people are still there.
It seems to me that Israel is targeting the tunnel infrastructure im Gaza City and known Hamas militants, who use their families and public infrastructure including school, hospitals, and apartment building to conceal the 800 tunnel shafts the IDF have documented in Gaza City.
Also, some 90% of the airstrikes have been in a tiny area of Gaza City, at the tunnels from which Hamas launched the October 7 attach and to which they retreated. Israel issued emergency text and OTA broadcasts warning civilians to evacuate and not to go near the blockade. I'll agree the blockade and occupation were illegal, but Gaza no has has no functional ability to govern itself, let alone rebuild the infrastructure.