RSS
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.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.