'He Had No Intention Of Keeping His Word': Joe Biden's Take On Benjamin Netanyahu

New Delhi: Former US President Joe Biden has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of repeatedly making promises to limit civilian casualties in Gaza, only to see Israeli military operations continue to kill more Palestinians, saying he became increasingly frustrated with the Israeli leader's unwillingness to look beyond his immediate political interests and consider the long-term consequences. In excerpts from his forthcoming memoir, 'Promise Me, America', Biden recounts how he repeatedly raised concerns with Netanyahu over the humanitarian consequences of Israel's military offensive following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, claiming that although the Israeli prime minister acknowledged the damage mounting civilian casualties were causing to Israel's international standing and American support for the war, his assurances that greater precautions would be taken were rarely followed by meaningful changes on the ground."Bibi had no qualms about making promises he had no power - or intention - to keep," Biden writes. The excerpts, published by CNN and other US media networks on Friday, offer an account of the strained relationship between the two leaders. The memoir is scheduled for release on November 17.Biden says his hopes of achieving permanent peace in the Middle East were "shattered" by Hamas's October 7 assault on Israel and recalls making several calls to Netanyahu on the day of the attack to communicate Washington's efforts to prevent a similar assault from happening again."I wanted him to know my determination to ensure that a day like this would never happen again," Biden writes.The former president says that while he understood Israel's determination to respond to the killings carried out by Hamas, he began pressing the Israeli government almost from the beginning of to take greater precautions to protect civilians caught in the fighting."I had been calling on Israel to take precautions to reduce civilian suffering since the beginning of the conflict," Biden writes. "I had expressed these concerns privately in many conversations with Bibi, who acknowledged the damage that these rising casualties were doing to Israel's image, and to US support for the war."According to Biden, Netanyahu appeared to understand that the mounting Palestinian death count was not only damaging Israel's standing internationally but was also creating growing political difficulties for the United States. However, Biden says the Israeli leader repeatedly failed to translate his assurances into action."But a familiar pattern established itself: He would promise to do more, and then another aggressive action would follow, killing more civilians. When we called them on it, the Israelis always had an explanation or excuse, but the result was the same," Biden writes. "While I understood that he was working under severe pressures, I was frustrated by his failure to think like a statesman and safeguard Israel's long-term interests, not just his own short-term political needs."Beyond the disagreements over Gaza, Biden writes about the trust deficit between the two leaders."There wasn't much trust between us," Biden writes. "He and I could be direct with each other, but there wasn't a ton of trust. I was also concerned about Bibi's tendencies, which were similar to Trump's. He could be extremely flexible with the facts and had no hesitation about bending democratic institutions to serve his personal interests."Nearly 75,000 Palestinians, including children, have been killed, according to figures from Gaza's Health Ministry cited by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The scale of the destruction has left almost the entire population displaced at some point during the conflict. The United Nations has characterised the Israeli campaign as genocide.