Biden Tells Netanyahu Rafah Would be a ‘Mistake,’ As Two Allies Rile Up Veiled Swipes

Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that a major ground offensive in Gaza’s Rafah “would be a mistake” as the two spoke for the first time in several months. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that “President [Biden] explained why he is so deeply concerned about the prospect of Israel conducting major military operations in Rafah.”

The conversation happened amid growing tensions between the two geopolitical allies over Gaza war, which appears to impact Biden’s reelection chances in the November contest as the Arab American support weans.

“A major ground operation there would be a mistake – it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza, and further isolate Israel internationally,” Sullivan quoted Biden as telling Netanyahu.

An estimated 1.5 million displaced people are sheltering in Rafah.

Netanyahu hits back at American Senator Schumer for labelling him ‘an obstale to peace’

As Americans and Netanyahu tussled over the ground operation in the city of Rafah, US Senator Chuck Schumer slammed the Israeli premier as an “obstacle to peace,” urging for new elections. Netanyahu criticised Schumer’s speech as “totally inappropriate” and something for the “Israeli people to decide” whether or not the country must go to polls amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel is not a “banana republic,” Netanyahu said in a defiant tone, referring to a phrase used for small countries economically dependent on one crop.

Schumer’s speech was hailed by US President Joe Biden as the previously staunch supporter of Israel and a Jewish senator accused Netanyahu of “allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.” His remark came as thousands of Israeli citizens demonstrated on the streets for weeks calling for new elections as they demanded the return of hostages and derided Netanyahu’s government for not brokering a ceasefire to the months-long grinding war.

Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region, said a US senator whilst he questioned the mounting civilian deaths, which included mainly children and women, in Gaza. In the 40-minute speech made last week, Schumer said, Netanyahu has “put himself in a coalition of far-right extremists” and “as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.” “Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer continued, adding that the world was now changing and that “Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”