From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 18, 2024
Netanyahu tells AIPAC that criticism from Washington is ‘deliberately false’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Speaking in Israel to the leadership of AIPAC, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insinuates that criticism from Washington over the conduct of the war on Hamas is “deliberately false,” and expressed for domestic political gain.
“The description [from Washington] is you have an outlier prime minister with some extreme fringe groups and that’s what’s driving the policy,” Netanyahu says. “False. I would say deliberately false. They know it’s false. But that falsehood is perpetrated and it’s wrong.”
Netanyahu says that Israelis are unified behind the war aims of destroying Hamas and bringing the hostages back.
“I’ve said this to the president,” says Netanyahu. “I’ve said this to the people that I’ve talked to. They keep saying that local politics is interfering with this.”
“They may be right,” he continues. “On which side of the pond?”
Biden, trailing Republican challenger Donald Trump in polls, has seen support drop since October 7, especially among progressives and Muslim Americans.
“We have to stand together and win this war,” Netanyahu insists. “We have to stand together here and we have to stand together there.”
Netanyahu and Biden are slated to have a phone call this afternoon.
