The Age | Farrah Tomazin | 05.04.2024
The threats by Biden simply don’t stand up to the ongoing supply of arms that Israel continues to use to murder so many innocent men, women and children – come on America put your money where your mouth is and stop this genocide – Mark
Washington: US President Joe Biden has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America’s ongoing support for the war in Gaza will depend on whether he can limit the killing of innocent civilians and bring more aid to starving people.
In his first phone call with Netanyahu since seven humanitarian workers were killed in an Israeli strike on Monday, Biden made it clear that what happened was “unacceptable,” and that he wanted Israel to implement “concrete…steps” to minimise civilian harm.
Otherwise, he told Netanyahu, the US would reassess its policy on the war – which centres largely on the supply of weapons to Israel in its pursuit of the terrorist organisation Hamas.
A readout issued by the White House after the call said that Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.”
But Biden told Netanyahu that “US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps”.
He also underscored the need for an immediate ceasefire and “urged the prime minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.”
The intense phone call was the first time Biden has attempted to leverage US aid to influence Israel’s military operations, which have so far led to tens of thousands of innocent people being killed, wounded or starved.
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