| | | The new Gaza war is between Biden and Netanyahu | | | | Conventional wisdom is that the souring of the Bibi-Biden relationship is a bad development for both leaders. But is it? In each case, there is also a benefit to the outbreak of mutual criticism and finger-pointing | | |
|  | | Allison Kaplan Sommer
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| | | | | |  | | | The media is abuzz with reports on the increasingly fractious relationship between U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two leaders of the countries with a supposedly unbreakable bond, who resolutely stood side by side following the October 7 attack vowing to work together to defeat Hamas and return the hostages, are now exchanging barbs – not only privately, but in public as well – with their rift visible for all to see.
Over the weekend, Biden attacked the prime minister for his unwillingness to dramatically step up the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, and questioned the continuation of the war. In an interview, he observed that Netanyahu is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel. It's contrary to what Israel stands for. I think it's a big mistake and I want to see a cease-fire."
He also warned that if Israel went ahead with an offensive on the southern Gazan city of Rafah, as Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to do, it would be crossing a "red line."
Netanyahu quickly hit back, saying: "I don't know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that that I'm pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he's wrong on both counts."
Conventional wisdom is that the souring of the Bibi-Biden relationship is a bad development for both leaders.
But is it?
In each case, there is also a benefit to the outbreak of mutual criticism and finger-pointing: the two leaders conveniently have someone else to blame for developments that would otherwise point to their failings.
Netanyahu promised at the outset of the war that he would achieve total victory against Hamas and secure the release of the hostages. Five months later, neither has happened. For more than a month, he has said repeatedly that he will continue Israel's offensive into Rafah, but there are no signs on the ground that this will happen in the near future.
As political pressure in Israel grows, it is increasingly helpful for the Israeli premier to deflect the blame onto a confused and troublesome U.S. president who won't let him do what is necessary to keep his promises.
As for Biden, he would lose credibility and massive amounts of political support if he turned on Israel at this point – after investing so much time and money in U.S. support for Israel in the Gaza conflict. He would also lose the credit he has accrued for his diplomatic role in preventing the conflict from spreading further.
But as the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza grows even more dire, as diplomatic efforts and U.S. pressure show no signs of having any effect on Hamas leaders, the war drags on. The White House's efforts toward a complex deal involving a cease-fire, hostage release, normalization in the Gulf and Israeli nod toward a two-state solution is looking like even more of a distant pipe dream than ever.
Polls show that a growing number of Americans believe Israel has gone too far and needs to be reined in. Pinning the blame on Netanyahu personally is a convenient solution to Biden's dilemma and is therefore an emerging theme: he supports Israel; he doesn't support – or trust – Bibi.
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