Senate Democrat says Netanyahu has been an ‘exceptionally difficult partner’

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been “difficult” to work with as the U.S. pushes for a two-state solution to end the Israel-Hamas war.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu has been an exceptionally difficult partner, and I think President Biden did the right thing right after the shattering — the horrific attack by Hamas, to go to Israel, to stand strong with Israel, and frankly, to send a firm message to Iran to stay out of this conflict,” Coons said on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” adding that President Biden deployed aircraft carrier groups to the region to deter escalation in the region.

“What has been a real challenge is the big gap between most of us in Congress and the president who believe a two-state solution is the only way forward, and Prime Minister Netanyahu who has done everything he can to undermine a positive vision for peace for Israel,” he continued.

The Biden administration has upped its criticism of Israel in recent days but has maintained that the U.S. supports Israel’s right to defend itself since the militant group Hamas launched its deadly attack on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people. Biden said last week that Netanyahu “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 last week.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also said last week that the Biden administration has not given up hope on a two-state solution, but he noted that getting there is “going to be elusive.”

When asked whether he would support a provision in the aid package to “force adherence to international law or U.S. law,” Coons said that those requirements already exist.

“Margaret, there already are requirements in American law that when we send military assistance to another country, whether it’s Ukraine or it’s Israel, that they have to abide by international law, and President Biden and the senior members of his team who have gone to Israel repeatedly have had some success in pressing Prime Minister Netanyahu to change direction, most recently in reining in settler violence in the West Bank,” he told CBS’s Margaret Brennan.