Washington — President Joe Biden spoke tersely to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, saying he did not know whether the Israeli leader was holding up a Middle East peace deal to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“No government has helped Israel more than me. None, none. And I think Bibi should remember that,” he said, referring to the Israeli leader by his nickname. “And I don’t know if he’s trying to influence the election, but I don’t think he will.”
Biden, making a rare appearance in the White House press briefing room, was responding to comments from his colleague, Senator Chris Murphy. Senator Chris Murphy told CNN this week that he was concerned that Netanyahu had little interest in the presidential election. Part of the reason for the peace agreement is American politics.
“I don’t think you have to be a desperate cynic to read some of Israel’s actions, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions, as they relate to the U.S. election,” Murphy said.
Biden and Netanyahu have long had a complicated relationship, but as their views on the Gaza war diverge and their political future hangs in the balance, they are running out of room to maneuver.
For Biden, a diplomatic agreement would help resolve deep divisions among Democrats over the war and shore up support for Vice President Kamala Harris, and the global conflict she will have to manage if she wins next month. There will be one less. Netanyahu holds his political concerns closer to home. If he stops the war, his far-right coalition will abandon him, and he may lose power and have to face his own legal problems. And Israel has little reason to stop now that it has destroyed Hezbollah’s leadership.
Biden has long pushed for a diplomatic deal, and he and his aides have said several times in the past few months that such an agreement has been reached. But that is unlikely to ever materialize, and in some cases U.S. and Israeli officials continue to discuss striking a deal privately, even though Netanyahu has publicly opposed the prospect.
Last week, the United States, France and other allies called for an immediate 21-day Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire, hoping Israel would welcome, if not outright support, the plan. Instead, Netanyahu publicly rejected this, telling leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly that Israel would “continue to desecrate Hezbollah until all our goals are achieved.”
Israel is advancing on two fronts, killing Hezbollah’s top leaders, pursuing a ground invasion of Lebanon and launching airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that have killed dozens of people, including children. And the country has vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack this week.
Oil prices rose 5% on Thursday as concerns grew that Israel would attack Iranian oil facilities. A surge in gas prices as the election approaches would be a blow to Harris. Especially after Friday’s strong economic news.
Former Vice President Biden said he had not yet decided how to react to Iran, but said, “If I were in their shoes, I would have thought of alternatives other than attacking the oil fields.”
He opposed the idea of seeking a meeting with Netanyahu to discuss responses to Iran. He said no.
“I think we will have discussions once they decide how to respond,” he said.
But Netanyahu has become increasingly resistant to Biden’s public charm attacks and private pleas, leading the president to push back more decisively. And Biden has publicly refused to deliver heavy bombs to Israel and has increasingly expressed concern about all-out war in the Middle East.
Despite their long friendship, the two are not very close or particularly close. When Biden visited Israel as vice president under Barack Obama, he and other U.S. officials were surprised by the administration’s strong opposition to the Israeli government’s announcement that it would build new Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Nonetheless, Biden has consistently maintained his support for Israel’s defense and security. He hugged Netanyahu on the Tel Aviv airport tarmac in the aftermath of the deadly Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. Since then, Biden has, with few exceptions, supported continued and stepped-up U.S. arms transfers to Israel, while warning Israelis to be cautious in their response to avoid civilian casualties.
“Israelis have every right to respond to vicious attacks not only by Iran but by everyone from Hezbollah to the Houthis,” Biden said Friday. “But the fact is that we have to be much more careful in handling civilian casualties.”
Biden also ordered the U.S. military to increase its presence in the region to protect Israel from attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iran itself. Last April and again earlier this week, the United States played a leading role in shooting down missiles launched by Iran toward Israel.
In contrast, Republican Donald Trump and Netanyahu have had a much friendlier relationship. Trump invited Netanyahu last July. During his presidency, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and rolled back decades-old U.S. legal decisions on Jewish settlements. It initiated policy changes that Netanyahu applauded. The West Bank violates international law.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
