BY JOHN BACON, USA TODAY GANNETT SYNDICATION SERVICE|
President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb the death toll of civilians in Gaza but asserted in an interview featured on MSNBC that the U.S. has no plans to cut off the supply of weapons to the Israeli military.
Biden, asked what “tough love” he would give Netanyahu, responded that Netanyahu “has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas, but he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.
In my view, he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel.” Biden said Netanyahu’s response to the Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 in Israel is “contrary to what Israel stands for, and I think it’s a big mistake. So I want to see a cease-fire.” More than 31,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel says 13,000 of them were Hamas militants.
Biden was also asked whether he had a “red line” when it comes to Israel. While the president again urged the country to protect Palestinian lives, he added that “I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons.”