WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first interaction in more than a month on Monday as the rift between the allies over the Gaza food crisis and war behavior has grown, the White House said.
The call comes as Washington Republicans and Israeli officials quickly expressed outrage after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sharply criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war and called on Israel to hold new elections. They accused the Democratic leader of violating the unwritten rule against interfering in the electoral politics of a close ally.
Biden did not endorse Schumer’s call for elections, but said he thought he gave a “good speech” that reflected the concerns of many Americans.
The White House is skeptical of Netanyahu’s plan to carry out an operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have fled, as Israel seeks to eliminate Hamas after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack. Biden administration officials have warned that they would not support such an operation without the Israelis presenting a credible plan to ensure the safety of innocent Palestinian civilians.
Israel has yet to present such a plan, White House officials said.
The Biden-Netanyahu call also comes as the United Nations Food Agency issued even more dire warnings on Monday about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The World Food Program warned that there is “a threat of famine” in northern Gaza, where 70% of the remaining population is experiencing catastrophic hunger, and that a further escalation of the war could push about half of Gaza’s population to the brink of starvation to take.
Netanyahu lashed out against US criticism on Sunday, describing calls for new elections as “completely inappropriate.”
Netanyahu told Fox News Channel that Israel would never have called for new US elections after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and he denounced Schumer’s comments as inappropriate.
“We are not a banana republic,” he said. “The people of Israel will choose when they will hold elections, and who they will elect, and it is not something that will be forced on us.”