Axios: Biden is frustrated and running out of patience with Netanyahu
According to Axios website, US President Joe Biden, along with senior US officials, feels frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejects most of the White House’s requests related to the war in Gaza.
Axios website quoted four US officials with direct knowledge of the events, saying that Biden began to lose his patience, and one of them said, “The situation is bad and we are stuck… The president’s patience is running out”.
While Biden and Netanyahu spoke almost every other day in the first two months of the war, they haven’t spoken in 20 days since a tense call on December 23, which a frustrated Biden ended with the phrase: “This conversation is over”.
At the time, Biden was angry because Netanyahu had rejected his request that Israel release Palestinian Authority funds it was holding.
In addition, Biden and his advisers believe that Israel isn’t doing enough to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
They are also frustrated by Netanyahu’s unwillingness to seriously discuss plans for the day after the war and his rejection of the US plan to reform the Palestinian Authority to have a post-Hamas role in Gaza.
US officials are now increasingly concerned that Israel won’t meet its timetable for transitioning to low-intensity operations in Gaza by the end of January, based on the current situation in Gaza, especially in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
