From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Netanyahu pushes back after Biden says Israel will lose global support over its ‘incredibly conservative government’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
After US President Joe Biden warned Israel that it will lose global support with the current makeup of the government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu puts out a video responding directly, arguing that there is widespread support in the US for the Israeli government.
“From the beginning of the war, I have been leading a diplomatic campaign whose goal is to deflect the pressure to end the war prematurely, and at the same time to also gain support for Israel,” says Netanyahu.
“We have significant support in this area,” continues Netanyahu, pointing to a Harvard Harris poll published Monday showing 82 percent of people in the US support Israel in its war against Hamas.
“This gives us another source of strength to continue our war against Hamas until total victory,” Netanyahu concludes.
In recent days, Netanyahu has been more forceful in pushing back against Biden in interviews and statements.
In a TV interview last night, Biden said that if Israel continued with the “incredibly conservative government they have, and [far-right National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and others… they’re going to lose support from around the world. And that is not in Israel’s interest.”
