Joe Biden 'privately calls Netanyahu a**hole' as Israel leader 'giving him hell'
The US president has become privately frustrated with his Israeli counterpart over the latter's refusal to call a ceasefire in in Gaza and has used insulting terms to describe him, according to insiders.
In public, the long-term friendship between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu has been one featuring shows of mutual and complete respect. However, behind closed doors Biden has expressed contempt for 'Bibi', a new report claims today, It is claimed the president has repeatedly used blunt language to express his true thoughts on Netanyahu's stance over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The president has even gone to far as to cite the prime minister as the main hurdle in persuading the state to change its tactics. When asked about Biden’s private comments about Netanyahu, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said: “The president has been clear where he disagrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but this is a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and in private."
READ MORE: Joe Biden moving close to breakdown with Israeli prime minister over war, top aide claims
Joe Biden has reportedly slammed Benjamin Netanyahu in private (AFP via Getty Images)But there have been numerous instances of Biden slamming Netanyahu for his actions, according to the report by NBC News. The outlet claimed that five people, who each asked to remain anonymous, were familiar with the president's damning comments.
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While three of these people said that Biden branded Netanyahu an "asshole" on three recent occasions. Biden has also reportedly said the Israeli prime minister is "giving him hell" as he tries to convince him to call a ceasefire, it was claimed. The insiders alleged that Biden has had "enough" and he is finding it difficult to deal with the Israeli leader. Other disparaging descriptions made by the president are thought to include referring to him as "this guy".
A source told NBC about Biden's view on the Gaza campaign: "He just feels like this is enough. It has to stop."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly come under fire from the US president (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)More than 28,000 people are reported to have died since the war broke out on October 7. Israel is planning a ground assault on Rafah city in the south of Gaza - where more than one million displaced Palestinians are. Despite the US's public opposition to the operation, Netanyahu is said to be pressing ahead with it.
A White House statement that Biden told Netanyahu during a phone call he believes “a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan” for protecting and supporting the Palestinians sheltering there. But Biden's frustrations have not seen him make any major changes in policy - despite calling Israel’s assault in Gaza last week as “over the top” - nor is he willing to come down hard on the Israeli leader in public.
A couple of weeks ago officials told NBC that the US administration was discussing delaying or slowing its weapons sales to Israel as a means to pull back on Israeli military operations in Gaza and protect civilians caught up in the war. While last week NBC reported another potential policy shift that involved drafting options for formally recognising Palestine as an independent state.
The politicians have a relationship that goes back decades (AFP via Getty Images)While during a fundraiser a few weeks ago, Biden apparently spoke about Israel and his frustrations with Netanyahu to a small group of donors. According to one supporter, the president called himself a "Zionist" and reinforced his view that Hamas must be wiped out and Israel protected. "He did say Bibi [Netanyahu] started off great, but ‘he’s been a pain in my ass lately’ or ‘he’s been killing me lately’ — one of those things,” said one person present, reports NBC, and that, “He goes, ‘But he’s doing a disservice … of late.’”
News of Biden's alleged hard words come after it was reported that Biden had called Netanyahu a "bad f***ing guy" in other private conversations.
In a piece for Politico, columnist Jonathan Martin claimed that young Democrats are increasingly finding US support for Netanyahu's actions against Hamas untenable, raising concerns about potential political repercussions for the Biden administration. The controversial disclosure comes from sources cited by Martin, alleging that he privately referred to Netanyahu him in such strong terms.
Martin wrote: "Like everyone in the administration and any Democrat with a pulse, [Biden is] deeply suspicious of Benjamin Netanyahu, and privately has called the Israeli prime minister a 'bad fucking guy,' according to people who’ve talked to the president." A US president spokesperson, Andrew Bates, reportedly denied the statement was ever made.
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