TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back on Sunday at a powerful far-right minister in his cabinet who said Washington has not fully backed Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told the Wall Street Journal that US President Joe Biden had not given Israel sufficient support.
“Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes to Hamas,” Ben-Gvir told the newspaper in an article published on Sunday. “If (former US president Donald) Trump was in power, the US conduct would be completely different.”
Netanyahu appeared to respond to the interview ahead of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, saying: “We greatly appreciate the support that we have received from the Biden administration since the outbreak of the war.”
“I don’t need help to know how to navigate our relations with the US and the international community, while standing firm on our national interests,” he said. “We make our own decisions, even in those cases where there is no agreement with our American friends.” The United States is Israel’s main international ally, providing billions of dollars each year in military support.
But in recent weeks it has insisted on greater protection of civilians in the Gaza Strop as well as the eventual creation of a Palestinian state. Ben-Gvir’s outburst against Biden came after Washington took the rare move of imposing sanctions on four settlers following rising violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
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