During an interview on MSNBC, President Biden criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by saying he is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel.”
President Joe Biden: “He has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas. But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken. He’s hurting — in my view, he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world — it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake. So I want to see a ceasefire.”
In the same interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, Biden warned Netanyahu against invading Rafah. But he also vowed to keep arming Israel regardless of what it does in Gaza.
Jonathan Capehart: “What is your red line with Prime Minister Netanyahu? Do you have a red line? For instance, would invasion of Rafah, which you have urged him not to do — would that be a red line?”
President Joe Biden: “It is a red line, but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical. So there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons so that they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them, they don’t have — but there’s red lines that if he crosses and they continue — you cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.”
Netanyahu responded by vowing to defy Biden’s red line on Rafah, saying, “We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave.”