President Biden told Time magazine "there is every reason for people" to conclude that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for personal political survival.
Why it matters: Biden's remark was some of his harshest criticism of Netanyahu since Oct. 7 and was another signal that the president wants to see the Gaza war end as soon as possible.
Driving the news: The interview, which was published on Tuesday, was conducted on May 28, three days before Biden's speech laying out the Israeli proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal.
- In the interview, Biden hints at that speech when asked why he isn't pushing back hard against an Israeli airstrike in Rafah that occurred two days earlier and sparked a fire that killed at least 35 Palestinians sheltering in a camp.
Zoom in: The Time magazine team that interviewed Biden said some in Israel have suggested Netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political self-preservation. "Do you believe that?" they asked.
- After responding that he doesn't want to comment, Biden then said, "there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion."
- Netanyahu's radical right-wing coalition partners ultranationalist ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to leave the coalition and topple the government if the current proposal turns into an agreement.
- But the two ultra-orthodox parties in Netanyahu's coalition announced they support the deal and called on Netanyahu to push forward with it regardless of political pressure.
- The President mentioned that the judicial overhaul Netanyahu was pushing for before Oct. 7 "hasn't been helpful" for the country and said the Israeli prime minister had got "blowback" from the Israeli military for wanting to change the country's supreme court before the war.
What they're saying: White House spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday that Biden was clear in his remarks to Time and was referring to what many Netanyahu critics have said before.
- He stressed that Biden and Netanyahu disagree on many things but the administration will continue working with Netanyahu and the war cabinet on pushing forward the proposal for a hostage deal.
- In response to a reporter asking Biden whether Netanyahu is "playing politics with the war," Biden on Tuesday said: "I don't think so. He's trying to work out a serious problem he has."
State of play: Biden said in the interview that the last offer Israel made to Hamas regarding the hostage deal "was very generous in terms of who they'd be willing to release, what they'd give in return."
- He said Netanyahu is under enormous pressure within Israel to secure the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza and "is prepared to do about anything to get the hostages back."
- Biden said Israel has "engaged in activity that is inappropriate" in Gaza but stopped short of saying it has committed war crimes. "The answer is it's uncertain and has been investigated by the Israelis themselves," he said.
- He said he is concerned the Israeli leadership is making the same mistake the U.S. leadership made after 9/11 with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
What's next: Biden said his biggest disagreement with Netanyahu is about the day after the war and a strategy for the future of Gaza.
- "There needs to be a transition to a two-state solution. And that's my biggest disagreement with Bibi Netanyahu. I think there is a clear path for a transition where the Arab states would provide security and reconstruction in Gaza in return for a longer-term commitment (by Israel) to a transition to a two-state solution," he said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from the White House.
