Tovah Lazaroff
Jerusalem Post, Mar. 11, 2024
“We have made clear” both privately and publicly “that it is our judgment that they can not and should not go into Rafah without a humanitarian assistance plan that is credible and that they can actually implement.”
An IDF military operation in Gaza’s Rafah is a necessity to defeat Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he pushed back at US President Joe Biden’s opposition to the move given his fears that it would deepen the humanitarian disaster in the enclave. “Look, it’s either Israel or Hamas. There’s no middle way. I mean, we have to have that victory,” Netanyahu told Fox & Friends on Monday morning.
Biden had told MSNBC one day earlier that a Rafah operation would cross a “red line.” Netanyahu shot back on Fox that Israelis have “a red line. We can’t let Hamas survive.”
When pressed about whether the US was pressuring Israel to halt the Gaza war, essentially to get their “foot off the gas,” Netanyahu retorted, “I’m telling you that we’re not getting off the gas.” “I’m telling you that we have to take care of Israel’s security in our future, and that requires eliminating the terrorist army. That’s a prerequisite for victory,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke amid growing tension with Biden over Gaza, as the president’s reelection campaign heads into full gear. Biden in an interview with MSNBC attempted to divorce Netanyahu from the Israeli public, explaining that the prime minister’s policies concerning Gaza were harming the country.
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