President Biden at a press conference on Friday evening pushed back on Republican claims that the Democratic Party is anti-Israel.

Why it matters: A number of Democratic lawmakers became frustrated with Biden this week for his behind-the-scenes approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the administration’s sale of weapons to Israel. Some lawmakers said they thought the White House should be more publicly forceful in its efforts to de-escalate the crisis.

Driving the news: Biden said at a joint press conference Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday there needed to be an immediate ceasefire.

“He never broke his word with me,” Biden said of Netanyahu.

One day after the ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli police forcibly dispersed a protest at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, or Temple Mount, the site of last Monday’s police raid that Hamas cited in launching its initial rocket attacks.

Biden said he again made it clear to Netanyahu it is important to bring an end to the intercommunal violence in Jerusalem. “This has to stop,” Biden stressed.

What he’s saying: The president added he is committed to a two-state solution, which he called the only viable fix to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

CONTINUE READING ON AXIOS

• Author
• Recent Posts

BPR Wire

Latest posts by BPR Wire (see all)

• The Florida candidate laser-focused on eradicating horrific animal crimes - March 22, 2024
• Sabo: ‘Rush was our GOAT, there was no equal and he made it look easy’ - February 18, 2024
• Dana Bash appears to want to crawl out of her own skin when Ramaswamy ‘goes there’ on J6 - December 7, 2023

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.