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Biden slams Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority in CNN interview
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden blamed increasing tension in the West Bank on the “lost credibility” of the Palestinian Authority as well as on “extremists” in Israel’s government.
In a televised interview on foreign policy with CNN host Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Biden also again declined to say when he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Biden has pushed off scheduling that meeting due to friction between the two men regarding Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners and his government’s plans to weaken the judiciary.
“Bibi, I think, is trying to work through how he can work through his existing problems in terms of his coalition,” Biden said, using Netanyahu’s nickname, after Zakaria asked him what it would take to invite Netanyahu to the White House. “This is one of the most extreme members of cabinets that I have— that I have seen. And I go all the way back to Golda Meir.” (Biden famously met with Meir, then Israel’s prime minister, just prior to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when he was a freshman senator.)
Netanyahu’s cabinet includes Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister who holds a measure of authority in the West Bank, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister. Both stand at the head of far-right parties, and Ben-Gvir has been convicted of terrorism-related offenses. Both evinced some sympathy for settlers who have carried out retaliatory riots in Palestinian villages in recent months, and have called for accelerated Jewish settlement.
In the interview, Biden also discussed the judicial overhaul, which he has criticized. He said it was another factor in considering when Netanyahu would visit. “Hopefully, Bibi will continue to move toward moderation in changing the court,” Biden said. (After months of negotiation between Israeli political factions, Netanyahu’s government appears poised to advance one segment of the reform this week.)
Biden said his government is in constant contact with Israel and noted that Israeli President Isaac Herzog — who has notably criticized Netanyahu’s court initiatives — is visiting later this month.
Biden had criticism for Palestinian leaders as well: He lamented the collapse of authority in parts of the West Bank ostensibly controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
“I think that the fact that the Palestinian Authority has lost its credibility, not necessarily because of what Israel’s done, just because it’s just lost its credibility, number one, and, number two, created a vacuum for extremism in the — among the Palestinians … there are some very extreme elements,” he said.
Biden appeared to echo Israel’s defense of its military raids in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank. Last week, Israeli forces mounted a deadly two-day raid on the city of Jenin in which 12 Palestinians and one Israeli were killed. Israel has said that the Palestinian Authority has all but ceded some areas to armed militants, who are carrying out deadly attacks against Israeli civilians. Since the beginning of the year, more than 150 West Bank Palestinians and more than two dozen Israelis have been killed in the violence.
“So it’s not all [on] Israel now on the West Bank, all Israel’s problem, but they are a part of the problem, and particularly those individuals in the cabinet who say, ‘They have no right to— we— we can settle anywhere we want. They have no right to be here’, et cetera,” Biden said.
“We’re talking with them regularly,” he said, referring to the Netanyahu government, “trying to tamp down what’s going on.”
Biden sounded unusually pessimistic, essentially conceding that the Israeli government does not have the desire, and the Palestinian Authority does not have the means, to return to peace talks, a goal of his Israeli-Palestinian policy. The last serious talks between the sides collapsed in 2014. But Biden said he was still committed to the two-state outcome. “I’m one of those who believes that Israel’s ultimate security rests in a two-state solution.,” he said.
He appeared to be more optimistic about a prize that Netanyahu has sought: Saudi recognition of Israel. Biden suggested that a Saudi condition of establishing relations with Israel was the United States agreeing to help Saudi Arabia acquire nuclear know-how. The country seeks nuclear protection because it, like Israel, fears that Iran may obtain nuclear weapons — though it restored relations with Iran this year.
“I don’t think they have much of a problem with Israel, quite frankly,” Biden said of Saudi Arabia. “And whether or not we would provide a means by which they could have civilian nuclear power and/or be a guarantor of their security, that’s — I think that’s a little way off.”
The interview covered a range of foreign policy topics, including U.S. support for Ukraine and relations with China.
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The post Biden slams Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority in CNN interview appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded
FILE PHOTO: A worker at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an Israeli attack on Iran. June 13, 2025 Photo: REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum
Woken by air raid sirens, hurrying to bomb shelters, scouring travel sites for escape routes — thousands of tourists in Israel have found their holiday plans upended by the country’s conflict with Iran.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, shutting down the national airspace and telling people to remain where they were as the arch Middle East foes traded deadly blows.
The violence has left around 40,000 tourists blocked in Israel, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Airlines are cancelling flights until further notice, leaving travelers to decide whether to wait it out or seek costly detours through neighboring countries.
Justin Joyner, from California, is on holiday in Jerusalem with his father John, who lives in Nevada, and his son. They had expected some possible disruption, with Israel locked in a months-long conflict against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But, like most locals, they did not foresee a whole new war.
“We didn’t expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,” Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, which, for the past two nights, has seen Iranian ballistic missiles flash overhead like a rain of meteorites.
“It’s unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That’s just something we don’t think about in America,” he said.
Dr. Greer Glazer, who lives in Cleveland and was in Jerusalem for a nursing training program, faces a race down 10 flights of stairs in her hotel to reach the shelter when sirens sound — as they have done regularly since Friday night.
“I feel safe,” she said, “but waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that’s been the hardest. My family is scared to death … They think it’s 24/7 destruction, but it’s not like that.”
THE JORDAN ROUTE
Glazer had been due to return home on June 29, but is looking to bring forward her departure. The easiest exit route is via land crossings into neighboring Jordan and then a flight out of Amman airport which has been operating in daylight hours.
Israeli media reported that the transgender US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who only flew into Israel on Thursday for Tel Aviv’s since-canceled Gay Pride Parade, had left through Jordan.
Hours earlier, she had been photographed drinking a glass of red wine in a bomb shelter. “What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat,” she wrote on X.
Not everyone is rushing to leave.
Karen Tuhrim is visiting from London to see her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv. “Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I’m stuck,” she said.
Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv has taken direct hits from the Iranian missiles and Tuhrim has had to dip in and out of her hotel’s shelter. But she said she felt safe and was happy to be near her daughter.
“For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we’re good.”
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has set up a round-the-clock virtual help desk in English and Hebrew for stranded travelers.
But for anyone stuck here, all the museums are closed until further notice, entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is barred to non-residents and many shops remain shuttered.
“The streets and shops are empty,” said Jerusalem resident Anwar Abu Lafi, who saw no quick end to the gloom.
“People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better,” he said.
The post Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters
Illustrative: A Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: David King via Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel was struck by an Iranian missile, tragically claiming the lives of four women from the same family, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
The missile caused severe damage, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building where they lived.
Emergency services responded quickly, evacuating 14 injured individuals and providing care for eight others suffering from shock at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Despite the devastation, the community and first responders showed remarkable resilience and solidarity, working tirelessly to assist those affected.
Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, described the scene as one of severe destruction but praised the swift and professional response of rescue teams. Paramedic Adnan Abu Rumi, one of the first on site, emphasized the dedication of emergency personnel in managing the crisis.
Residents like Hamudi, who was injured but survived, shared heartfelt accounts of the sudden impact, underscoring the strength of families and neighbors coming together in difficult times.
The post 4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The United States has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear program and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.”
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for doing so.
“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The post Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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