WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be delaying an end to the Gaza war for political reasons, in an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday.
The comments in a May 28 interview were made just days before Biden announced details of a proposed ceasefire in Gaza and at a time when the Israeli prime minister is struggling with deep political divisions in the country.
Asked whether he believed Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political reasons, Biden replied, “There is every reason to come to that conclusion.”
Biden, who has called for an end to the nearly eight-month-old war, also said it was “uncertain” whether Israeli forces had committed war crimes in Gaza.
The war between Israel and Gaza
Last month, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his defense chief and three Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes.
Israel launched an air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas after the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas launched attacks in Israel last October that left about 1,200 people dead and more than 250 taken hostage. According to Israeli figures, there are still about 120 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza health officials say Israeli attacks have killed more than 36,000 people in Gaza, with thousands more bodies buried under rubble.
Polls show that most Israelis support the war, but they blame Netanyahu for security failures when Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities near Gaza on October 7, and would vote him out of office if elections were held.
Massive street protests have taken place almost weekly, with tens of thousands of people taking part, demanding that the government take further steps to bring home the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 and that Prime Minister Netanyahu resign.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Peter Graf Editing)
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