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Biden Suggests Netanyahu Prolonging Israel-Hamas War for ‘Political Self-Preservation’

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a Hanukkah reception at the White House in Washington, US, Dec. 11, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

US President Joe Biden has suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees a political advantage in dragging out the duration of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, potentially escalating tensions between allies Washington and Jerusalem.

During a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday, Biden reflected on his foreign policy agenda, including his assessment of the Israeli war effort in Hamas-ruled Gaza. The US president revealed that he recently spoke with Israeli officials regarding their progress in Gaza, but he was hesitant to divulge the details of those communications. 

Biden then hinted that he agreed with speculation that Netanyahu is extending the Israel-Hamas war “for his own political self-preservation” and to avoid facing accountability from the Israeli public. 

“There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion. And I would cite that as — before the war began, the blowback he was getting from the Israeli military for wanting to change the constitu — change the court. And so it’s an internal domestic debate that seems to have no consequence,” Biden told Time, referring to Netanyahu’s controversial plan to reform Israel’s judiciary before the war began. “And whether he would change his position or not, it’s hard to say, but it has not been helpful.”

Biden stated that he does not agree with former US President Donald Trump that Netanyahu bears most of the blame for the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7. In April, Trump said that the terror attacks “should have never happened” and criticized Netanyahu for allowing them to occur under his watch. 

“I don’t know how any one person has that responsibility. He was the leader of the country, so therefore, it happened. But he wasn’t the only one that didn’t pick it up,” Biden said. 

The president revealed that his “major disagreement” with the Israeli prime minister is “what happens” after Israel wraps up the war effort in Gaza. Any effort by the Israeli military to occupy the Gaza Strip at the conclusion of the war would be met with pushback by neighboring Arab countries, Biden said. 

“I’ve been talking to the Egyptians and been talking to the Saudis. I’ve been talking to the Jordanians, I’ve been talking to the Emiratis. The answer is, if that’s the case, it can’t work,” Biden said. 

Instead of occupying the Gaza strip, Biden argued that Israel needs to take steps to establish a Palestinian state. 

“There needs to be a two-state solution, a transition to a two-state solution. And that’s my biggest disagreement with Bibi Netanyahu,” Biden said. 

Neighboring Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan could help with the management and transition of Gaza at the conclusion of the Israel-Hamas war, Biden said. These countries, he explained, could provide security and assist in the rebuilding of the war-torn enclave in exchange for movement toward a two-state solution. 

“I think there is a clear path for a transition where the Arab states would provide security and reconstruction in Gaza in return for a longer-term commitment to a transition to a two-state solution,” the president continued. “And that extends all the way from Saudi Arabia, who I continue to talk to — my team — to the Jordanians that are trying to work bringing in goods and certain goods now, food, medicine, etc. And the Egyptians who I’ve been talking with frequently about what happens in terms of access for more material to get into Gaza to prevent this catastrophe from continuing.”

The US and Israel have engaged in intense negotiations to wind down the war in Gaza in recent months. Biden announced a three-phase plan on Friday to secure both the return of the remaining hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 and Israel’s exit from the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials have said that Biden disclosed only part of the proposal and that Israel has not agreed to end Israel’s military operations against Hamas.

Biden has yet to reveal how he plans to help dismantle Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that launched the war in Gaza by slaughtering over 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapping over 250 others on Oct. 7.

The post Biden Suggests Netanyahu Prolonging Israel-Hamas War for ‘Political Self-Preservation’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.

The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.

They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.

Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.

Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.

The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.

The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.

Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.

He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.

The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.

Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.

Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.

Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.

Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.

The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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