President Joe Biden has said he does not know whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding up a Gaza ceasefire agreement in order to influence next month’s US presidential election.
“I don’t know if they’re trying to influence the election, but I’m not counting on it,” Biden told reporters at his first White House press conference since taking office.
He then addressed his longtime ally with simple words: “No administration has helped Israel as much as I have. Nothing, nothing, nothing,” he said, “and I think (Netanyahu) should remember that.”
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern that Netanyahu is ignoring the U.S. president’s calls to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage release deal to hurt his party’s chances in November.
Earlier this week, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN, “You don’t have to be a hopeless cynic to see some of Israel’s actions and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions as being related to the American election. I don’t think so.”
Escalating violence in the Middle East and failure to secure a diplomatic deal are hurting Biden and his Democratic successor, Kamala Harris, according to polls. Amid the devastation in the Gaza Strip, the president’s approval ratings among Arab Americans have plummeted over the past year, potentially hurting his party’s chances in November.
Biden has been pushing for a diplomatic deal between Israel and Hamas in recent months, and has repeatedly suggested he is close to a deal. A pre-election deal would be a big boost for the president and Democrats, but it looks increasingly likely.
The Biden administration has criticized Hamas for failing to reach a deal, but the president has also recently expressed growing public dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he said was not doing enough to reach a deal.
Some U.S. officials have reportedly assessed that Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that a diplomatic deal is not in his political interest because members of his coalition oppose it.
“Hamas is not coming in with a deal. Unfortunately, the deal is not yet underway,” the Israeli prime minister said earlier this month, hours after U.S. officials said the deal was 90% complete.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu, who have known each other for decades, have become increasingly fraught, in contrast to the friendly relationship between the Israeli leader and his current Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Israel continues its attacks on Gaza and advances its ground invasion into southern Lebanon. This week, the United States also announced that it would respond to Iranian ballistic missile attacks.
At a press conference on Friday, Biden shocked reporters in the room, responding to concerns that Israel could attack Iranian oil fields in retaliation.
“The Israeli side has not yet concluded what it intends to do regarding the attack,” he said. “If I were in their shoes, I would consider alternatives to attacking the oil fields.”
Biden said Thursday that the United States is talking with Israel about a possible attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure, causing oil prices to rise.
