Washington DC, United States

United States President Joe Biden, on Tuesday (Jun 4) said there is “every reason” for people to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political preservation. The remark has since drawn criticism from the Israeli government which accused the US president of straying from diplomatic norms. 

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‘Every reason to believe’

In an interview with Time magazine, published on Tuesday, when asked whether he thought Netanyahu was prolonging the war for political reasons, Biden said, “I’m not going to comment on that.” He added, “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

WATCH | The Biden trap: Can Netanyahu get out of it?

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Notably, the Israeli PM’s popularity plummeted after Hamas launched its October 7 attack which took Israel by surprise and exposed serious flaws in the country’s security. However, a recent poll suggests otherwise and says Netanyahu is starting to regain his popularity. 

The US president’s remarks were made during the interview on May 28 and came before he pitched a three-phase ceasefire plan to end the almost eight-month-long war in Gaza, on Friday (May 31). 

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Biden also told the magazine that it is “uncertain” whether Israeli forces committed war crimes in the Palestinian enclave. 

The US president said that he had previously warned Israel not to make the same mistake that Washington made after the 9/11 attacks which led to “endless wars", adding that “they’re making that mistake.”

Biden, last week, called on the Israeli leadership to accept the deal and resist pressure from those who are pushing for the war in Gaza to go on “indefinitely".

“They want to occupy Gaza. They want to keep fighting for years and hostages are not a priority for them…I’ve urged leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes,” he added. 

Israeli government criticises Biden

When asked about the interview, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said it was “outside the diplomatic norms of every right-thinking country” for Biden to make such comments about Netanyahu. 

Netanyahu’s popularity rises

Opinion polls since the October 7 attack indicate that while Israelis support the war in Gaza, they blame Netanyahu for the security failures, and would vote him out if there was an election. 

Similarly, political analysts have indicated that the Israeli PM would lose if elections were held now. 

Also Read | Netanyahu deems Biden’s Gaza proposal ‘partial’ but says plan can kick off without full agreement

However, a poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 12, on May 29, suggests that Netanyahu is starting to regain his popularity after struggling politically for more than a year. He even outpolled his main rival Benny Gantz for the first time since the beginning of the war. 

When asked who was better suited to serve as PM, 36 per cent of the 500 Israeli voters who participated in the survey chose Netanyahu and 30 per cent supported Gantz. 

The incumbent Israeli PM was also ahead of opposition leader Yair Lapid.

However, the poll, with a 4.4 per cent margin of error, seems to contradict the discontent observed in Israel as the country has been witnessing months of, often violent, protests with people calling on Netanyahu to resign. 

(With inputs from agencies)