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www.axios.com

President Biden and other senior U.S. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration’s recent requests related to the war in Gaza, four U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.

Why it matters: Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack 100 days ago, Biden has given Israel his full backing, with unprecedented military and diplomatic support, even while taking a political hit from part of his base in an election year. That support has largely continued publicly, but behind the scenes, there are growing signs that Biden is losing his patience, the U.S. officials said.

  • “The situation sucks and we are stuck. The president’s patience is running out,” one U.S. official told Axios.
  • “At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has been in close contact with U.S. officials about the war, told Axios. “They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again.”

Behind the scenes: Biden hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu in the 20 days since a tense Dec. 23 call, which a frustrated Biden ended with the words: “This conversation is over.” They had spoken almost every other day in the first two months of the war.

  • Before Biden hung up, Netanyahu had rejected his request that Israel release the Palestinian tax revenues it’s withholding.
  • National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to downplay the decrease in communication, telling reporters on Wednesday that “it doesn’t say anything” about the state of the relationship.
  • But more and more signs of irritation are emerging. “There is immense frustration,” a U.S. official said.
  • GodlessCommie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1149·
    6 months ago

    Its fully within his power to pull 100% of the money Israel receives from the US and cut off all access to weapons. He has chosen not to.

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
      389·
      6 months ago

      It sure it. But then, the most powerful kingmaker in the US is AIPAC, if they withdraw their support of Biden, he will struggle in the presidential race.

      Then the risk of a xenophobic wannabe dictator getting elected is put on the otherside of the scale.

      So if you look at this from a purely US point of view. The tradeoff is brown people half a world away die, vs the US becoming trumplandia with all the vengeance he has promised to bestow on his political rivals.

      So if it was your choice, what would you chose?

      Edit to clarify: yes it’s bizarre US allows PACs, corporations should not be treated as people, the situation is FUBAR.

      • goferking0@lemmy.sdf.org
        121·
        6 months ago

        Almost like money needs to get taken out of politics but not like those who use it to keep their people in power will let that happen

        • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
          5·
          6 months ago

          Our views align on the solution and the hurdles.

          It saddens me that there is no young version of Senator Sanders, he would be good for the US.

        • GladiusB@lemmy.world
          34·
          6 months ago

          Money will never be taken out of politics. It’s the fundamental motivation for politics. No one is out there arguing for anything other than money. If you ask anyone if they want to be ecological and ethical they will say they are being so.

          Now ask if the consequences is their livelihood and changing what they know. They will fight tooth and nail.

          We have a fight based on two sides. But don’t think it’s only morally based. Both sides have financial consequences they are considering while fighting.

      • randon31415@lemmy.world
        6·
        6 months ago

        People are going to look back in AIPAC and wonder… how AI got a political action committee before chatgtp 6.0 passed the Turning test.

      • crusa187@lemmy.ml
        75·
        6 months ago

        Biden’s approval rating is 33%. AIPAC is of no consequence here - no incumbent in the history of US Federal elections has ever won with such abysmal polls in an election year. Not once, ever. Biden isn’t going to magically make history here, and his ego telling him he has to do 2 terms instead of allowing for a primary election so democracy can play out is the reason why.

        Then he has the audacity to claim democracy is on the line this year. It’s already gone, America is just in denial about it.

        • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.idEnglish
          1·
          6 months ago

          But his opponent is also unprecedentedly unpopular, so we’re basically in uncharted electoral territory such that the past isn’t necessarily a good guide to the future.

          Anyone who says they know how this all plays out is either a liar or in denial.

          • crusa187@lemmy.ml
            21·
            6 months ago

            Can’t expect them to fight their esteemed colleagues on the other side of the aisle in Washington for things like the basic human decency of healthcare for our people, or to win an election. But if there’s one thing everyone in DC can agree on, it’s that everything wrong is the fault of the leftists! (This is of course despite leftists having virtually 0 power in this regressive, conservative capitalist dystopia in which we live).

    • Xtallll@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      107·
      6 months ago

      Israel wasn’t popular with the other countries in the region before October, most of it’s neighbors have called for it’s destruction, US support is basically what keeps them in check.

        • S_204@lemm.ee
          33·
          6 months ago

          Israel isn’t popular because the region wants a Pan Arabian state and having a Jewish one right in the middle doesn’t allow them the caliphate they’re going for.

        • lledrtx@lemmy.world
          1111·
          6 months ago

          Israel is not popular in the region because the others are extremely antisemitic. Let’s stop pretending like the others are saints, please?

                • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
                  33·
                  6 months ago

                  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogan_of_the_Houthi_movement

                  “God Is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam”

                  Why exactly do they explicitly refer to Israel and “the Jews” separately if their issue is with Zionist Israel?

                  And then Al-Houthi had this to say through his fascicles: “Arab countries and all Islamic countries will not be safe from Jews except through their eradication and the elimination of their entity.”

                  You know what helps Zionists? Not condemning actual antisemitism, because it lets them continue the lie that anti Zionism is the same as anti semitism.

                  Unless, of course, you have a good explanation for how wishing a curse on Jews, distinctly from death to Israel, isn’t antisemitic?

            • lledrtx@lemmy.world
              23·
              6 months ago

              A new Antisemitic lie, conflate Jewish people’s desire to exist with Zionism.

      • GodlessCommie@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        6 months ago

        The money to Israel is NOT appropriations, it comes from the Foreign Military Financing Fund which is 100% allocated by the President. The President decides who and how much of that money goes to what counties and organizations.

        • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
          1·
          6 months ago

          That’s a very limited part of the support. Most of the money is allocated as I understand by Congress either directly to Israel, allocated to DoD or State Dept. who the. use their own budgets and programs to provide diplomatic and military support, sometimes jointly, of which Congress has oversight, and then through a number of statutory procedures, including the one you cited, which is basically lend-lease financing and grants. I don’t know the details of how it works but the President absolutely does not do as you’ve described. Even the limited authorizations and limited funding controlled by the White House has statutory procedures.

        • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
          29·
          6 months ago

          It’s insane to bomb the tunnels from which Hamas launched a terrorist attack of mass shootings and kidnapping of innocent civilians and first responders, and which they retreated back into?

          I don’t think so. I think the tunnels are a proportionate and just target.

          • meep_launcher@lemm.ee
            9·
            6 months ago

            I just don’t see military force as an effective counterterrorism strategy. Look what the US did in Afghanistan. Our best successes there were when we built infrastructure for the people. Our greatest blunder were the bombs we dropped.

            If you have 10 terrorists and you kill 5, how many terrorists do you have?

            1. Because even terrorists have family and friends. They only need a reason to pick up a gun.

            Israel is blind with rage, just like we were after 9/11. Yes there needs to be justice, but whatever this is, it’s not justice. It’s ineffective.