US domestic politics are likely at play behind the sharp attacks out of Washington against the Israeli government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ahead of his expected phone call with US President Joe Biden on Monday.
“The picture that has been presented in the last few days and weeks in the United States is completely different from what has been described,” Netanyahu said on Monday as he spoke to a delegation from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Jerusalem.
He referenced the political attacks against him, ministers in his government, and the IDF’s policies in Gaza that have come out of Washington in the last week, including by Biden and by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York).
The majority of the Israeli public supports his policies, Netanyahu said, and for those who doubt that just walk into any mall or speak to people in the street.
Netanyahu's statements
But statements from Washington have painted a picture, charging that “you have an outlier prime minister with [a government] with some extreme fringe groups, and that is what is driving the policy,” he said.
“That is false, deliberately false,” he empathized, adding in the past he has explained this to Biden.
“They [the US] keep saying that local politics is interfering with us.
“They may be right, but on which side of the pond,” Netanyahu added.
Netanyahu addresses the military situation in Rafah
He addressed Israel’s pending military operation in Rafah, which has been harshly criticized by the US and the international community, who fear that it will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
Over 1.3 million Palestinians are in that area, many of whom fled there to escape bombing in the northern part of the enclave.
Netanyahu stressed that the IDF would ensure that Palestinians in Rafah would be moved to safety before the Gaza Strip to any military operation.
“We can move them,” Netanyahu said.
Palestinians would not return to the north at this stage, but will be moved more to the center of the Strip, he said.
“There is 65% of the Gaza Strip between Rafah and the Central Corridor,” he said, emphasizing that Israel was not “going to trap a million people… is not true. it’s salacious.”It’s “a flimsy excuse. They will leave. We will make sure they have someplace to go,” he said.
Those who urge Israel not to enter Rafah are essentially calling on Israel not to win the war, he stated.
Netanyahu emphasized that he had drawn up a humanitarian plan that would be implemented before any military operation.
All the plans that involve the entry and distribution of humanitarian goods into Gaza have involved Israel, he said, explaining that he included the airdrop, the sea route from Cyprus, and the land crossings.
Netanyahu said he had spoken with Biden about a sea route in the first weeks of the war but that the main issue was distribution.
“The problem is how do you prevent looting by Hamas and others so that it gets to the civilian population,” he said.