Biden criticism of Israel hints at deeper tensions

President Biden is ratcheting up his public criticism of Israel in its war with Hamas, with underlying tensions between the U.S. and Israeli officials spilling into the open in recent days.

Biden and other White House officials have been adamant the U.S. will stand with Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks that left roughly 1,200 Israelis dead. But Biden has shown with some of his recent remarks there may be cracks between leaders in Washington and Jerusalem as Israel carries out counterattacks in Gaza and bristles at the prospect of a future two-state solution.

“I always saw the Biden effort to immediately embrace [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu as a deposit to be drawn on later. It was never a permanent American commitment to support whatever the Israeli government did,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“There are fissures,” Alterman added. “The question is how wide they get, and that’s partly about how much Biden is willing to push and how much Netanyahu is willing to push back from an Israeli perspective.”

Biden’s most significant criticism since Oct. 7 of Netanyahu came off-camera during remarks at a fundraiser in Washington on Tuesday when he said the prime minister “has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.”

“It has most of the world supporting it. But they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said, echoing similar remarks he made the day before at a Hanukkah reception at the White House.

The president on Tuesday singled out far-right members of Netanyahu’s government, such as national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and he specifically questioned Israel’s willingness to support a two-state solution down the road, a solution Biden firmly supports.

Biden raised eyebrows with the use of the term “indiscriminate bombing,” appearing to accuse Israel of bombing Gaza without intent or consideration for civilian casualties. The White House on Wednesday sought to downplay the idea of a widening rift between Biden and Netanyahu, saying Biden was reiterating what has already been communicated to Israeli counterparts.

When pressed on Biden’s use of the term “indiscriminate bombing,” national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated the notion that the U.S. expects the Israelis will act within the laws of armed conflict.

​​“He was expressing concerns that we continue to see civilian casualties in Gaza and again that we want to make sure that as they work to minimize, that they actually have those kinds of results,” Kirby said. 

“We know they’ve stated their intent to reduce civilian casualties and they have acted on that,” he added, highlighting efforts like providing a map for civilians to go to safe areas and agreeing to recent pauses in fighting.

He said top officials, including Biden, have expressed their concerns to Israel about Palestinian civilian casualties, which have soared into the tens of thousands in Gaza since the war began more than two months ago. National security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to reiterate those concerns when he travels to Israel and meets with Netanyahu on Thursday and Friday.

“The president is concerned, as he said he’s concerned, about the need to reduce civilian casualties,” Kirby said. “As a friend of Israel, of course he’s concerned about Israel not losing support and international opinion about what they’re doing.”

The president’s remarks followed similar sentiments expressed in recent days by other top administration officials. Vice President Harris said during a recent trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that too many innocent Palestinians had been killed in the fighting, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called it a “moral responsibility and strategic imperative” for Israel to protect civilians.

In response to Biden’s latest comments, Netanyahu said Tuesday in a video that while he appreciates the support from Biden in the quest to destroy Hamas, there are disagreements between them about potential next steps for the region after the war. Biden has long supported the concept of a two-state solution, and the White House has said he still believes one is possible despite Israel recently indicating otherwise. 

Both leaders are also not in agreement about what happens to Gaza after the war, with Israel recently indicating it does not want it ruled by the Palestinian Authority, something Biden has indicated he could support.

“Yes, there is disagreement about ‘the day after Hamas,’ and I hope that we will reach agreement here as well. I would like to clarify my position: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo,” he said, referring to the Oslo Accords, which was signed at the White House in 1993 as part of a peace treaty process that established Palestinian and Israeli leaders recognizing each other.

Netanyahu has signaled he would want to keep an Israeli presence in Gaza and he added in his video that he “won’t allow” Israel to “put in Gaza people who teach terrorism, support terrorism, finance terrorism.” Netanyahu’s conservative supporters have been pushing him to take these stances, despite the opinion of the U.S. president.

At the same time, Biden has faced mounting pressure from the left flank of the Democratic party and from some international partners over Israel’s tactics in responding to Hamas, with some critics equating it to genocide, a charge Biden officials have sharply pushed back on. The White House has recently made efforts to amplify its concerns about civilians in Gaza, and they have focused on getting humanitarian aid into the region but that’s done little to quell the bitter criticisms. 

Protests have followed Biden across the U.S. to push back on his pro-Israel stance and to call for a cease-fire, sometimes dubbing the president “genocide Joe.” Recent polling showed that the majority of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and 50 percent of voters aged 18-29 expressed their disapproval. 

Before the Israel-Hamas war, Biden and Netanyahu’s relationship this year had openly formed cracks over concerns about Israel’s conservative government, including when Biden urged the prime minister to pull back on the nation’s controversial judicial overhaul. Kirby reiterated those concerns Wednesday.

“It’s up to the Israel people to determine who is going to represent them in their government. The president has of course been very candid about some of the concerns we’ve had about judicial reforms,” Kirby said. “He expressed those concerns with love and respect for Israel.”