Netanyahu is a liability for Biden. Peace is impossible until he goes Simon Tisdall

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

His advice not to be “consumed by rage” was ignored. Since then, he has appeared to give Netanyahu free rein, or at least failed to rein him in. And Netanyahu, an unscrupulous hard-right nationalist and ardent Donald Trump fan, is no friend to Biden.

The US would like a time limit on the war, but Netanyahu will not stop shooting until he can claim Hamas is wholly eradicated – a practical impossibility. He frequently talks about a “long war”. It’s his best hope of staying in office and out of jail.

Dismissing Biden’s warnings, he aims to retain control of Gaza indefinitely. As ever, he rejects a two-state solution. Fewer than 4% of Jewish Israelis trust Netanyahu to tell the truth about the war, one poll found.

(snip)

Whether the question is Gaza’s future, Palestinian statehood, the Iranian threat or honest democratic governance, Netanyahu is a liability, more so now than before the war. Memo to Joe: there can be no peace while Bibi rules.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/18/netanyahu-liability-joe-biden-peace-impossible-israel-gaza

[calimary]

1. Unfortunately, I fear there won't ever be peace there.

How do you solve an age-old dispute like this, where (as I understand it) there are two opposing sides both claiming ownership of the same single stretch of land?

[Basic LA]

4. Gee, now I feel Age Old.

I was born before 1948. Well, guess you're right. I certainly feel it.

[paleotn]

12. And each backing their claims with interpretations of God's will. That's about as hopeless as it gets.

[T_A]

2. YEP

Netanyahu is a liability for Biden

He's a boat anchor chained to his leg.

[hlthe2b]

3. Biden has NEVER been a fan of Netanyahu. NEVER. But unless the Israelis force him out,

what the hell is Biden supposed to do? Obviously, he'll do everything possible behind the scenes to assert pressure and call out Netanyahu where he can. I worry that Netanyahu feels he now has "nothing left to lose" in the conduct of this war, given his very unfavorable political status.

[Lonestarblue]

11. Biden can't control Netanyahu. Only Israeli citizens can do that.

It must be frustrating for those not part of the hard right to see the damage that Bibi is doing to Israel’s reputation around the world, just as we were frustrated by Trump. Fortunately, we got rid of Trump. Israel needs another election to get rid of Bibi.

[AnnaLee]

5. Biden

Biden will just have to do the best with what he has been given.

[PortTack]

6. Which not surprisingly he does most of the time!

[tornado34jh]

7. I think that Islamist terrorist groups are like a Hydra

You can cut the head of it as many times you like. It will just keep regrowing back. Even if the Palestinians didn't support Hamas, they get support from elsewhere. It is impossible to completely eradicate Hamas. I think there is anywhere between 20,000-25,000 members of Hamas, but that's not counting the recruitment that they are probably currently doing, so it might be higher than that. We never eliminated the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, so what makes anybody think this will be any different with Hamas? We'll never eliminate religious terrorism, regardless of religion, no matter how many times we try. As long as people believe it, it will always be there.

[ShazzieB]

15. Also

I keep reading that the top leaders of Hamas are in some other country (Qatar?). It sounds like no matter how many "foot soldiers" Bibi kills, they can just keep recruiting new ones. That's what worries me.

[Crowman2009]

8. Nutty-yahoo wants a never-ending war to keep him in power.

Seems that the right-wing in Israel is similar to America.

[Uncle Joe]

9. Your post made me wonder what kind of protections the Israeli people have

from an autocrat taking over from within?

The American People had/have legal recourse against *rump because of his blatant violation (s) of the Constitution but from my limited understanding of Israel's government, they don't have a Constitution.

Of course having said all that, it's not absolutely for certain that the American People will win out against *rump just yet.

[paleotn]

13. Once things settle down, he knows he's cooked.

[yardwork]

10. I support and trust President Biden.

I trust that his administration is doing the best they can with a very difficult situation.

[paleotn]

14. The last part sums it up. An extremely difficult situation.

He's threaded that needle about as good as anyone could. Of course ill informed and unworkable solutions are a plenty from the US peanut gallery, left and right.

[SunSeeker]

16. How did Netanyahu become Biden's fault?

Netanyahu is Trump's buddy. Why aren't these so-called "Free Palenstine" protesters disrupting Trump rallies or holding protests down in Mar-a-Lago?

[Uncle Joe]

18. I believe it's because *rump isn't in power, sort of like Nixon in 68

I also believe that many if not most people believe that "The buck stops with the President." so whether fair or not, that's who catches the blame for catastrophes

[SunSeeker]

20. Trump has power over the Republican party, who support Netanyahu.

The Republicans control Congress and the Supreme Court. Pretty stupid to protest Biden when it's Trump and the Republicans who have supported Netanyahu and his right wing policies. Indeed, Republicans have tried to copy those policies. And yet there are no protests at the RNC or Mar-a-Lago. Putin must be pleased.

[Uncle Joe]

21. *rump is a soulmate of Netanyahu and has about as much regard

for the Palestinian people as the latter.

Why would *rump ever entertain the idea of speaking up for a minority, he's never done it before?

I agree that Putin is pleased.

[tornado34jh]

17. I think Obama also had his issues with Netanyahu if I am not mistaken

People thought he was Muslim because he didn't all-out support Israel, or more specifically, Netanyahu

[Faux pas]

19. Agree

we don't owe the middle eastern putin ANYTHING.