Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday rejected US President Joe Biden’s rebuke of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Netanyahu said that the majority of Israelis supported him and said, “If he meant by that that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts”.
“They support the action that we’re taking to destroy the remaining terrorist battalions of Hamas,” he said, referring to plans for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The comment came after the US President Joe Biden in an interview with MSNBC has accused Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu of “hurting Israel ” through his administration’s treatment of Palestinians.
Biden added that Netanyahu was making a “big mistake” by not doing enough to protect civilians.
“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 is hurting Israel more than helping Israel … it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake,” he added.
Israel’s offensive has been widely criticised amid fears of mass civilian casualties.
Ramzan ceasefire?
Biden had also warned Israel that if it planned to invade Rafah, it would further strain the relation between Washington and Israel. He reiterated that the United States will continue working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages.
Meanwhile, the Israeli PM’s poll ratings have plummeted as the people have accused him of not wanting to take responsibility for the security forces failing to prevent the massacre.
Over 1,200 people have died during the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and at least 67,000 injured by the war launched by Israel in response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
In a career spanning three decades and counting, Ramananda (Ram to his friends) has been the foreign editor of The Telegraph, Outlook Magazine and the New Indian Express. He helped set up rediff.com’s editorial operations in San Jose and New York, helmed sify.com, and was the founder editor of India.com.
His work has featured in national and international publications like the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Global Times and Ashahi Shimbun. But his one constant over all these years, he says, has been the attempt to understand rising India’s place in the world.
He can rustle up a mean salad, his oil-less pepper chicken is to die for, and all it takes is some beer and rhythm and blues to rock his soul.
Talk to him about foreign and strategic affairs, media, South Asia, China, and of course India.
