President Biden and other senior U.S. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration's recent requests related to the war in Gaza, four U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack 100 days ago, Biden has given Israel his full backing, with unprecedented military and diplomatic support, even while taking a political hit from part of his base in an election year. That support has largely continued publicly, but behind the scenes, there are growing signs that Biden is losing his patience, the U.S. officials said.
"The situation sucks and we are stuck. The president's patience is running out," one U.S. official told Axios.
"At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has been in close contact with U.S. officials about the war, told Axios. "They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again."
Behind the scenes: Biden hasn't spoken to Netanyahu in the 20 days since a tense Dec. 23 call, which a frustrated Biden ended with the words: "This conversation is over." They had spoken almost every other day in the first two months of the war.
Before Biden hung up, Netanyahu had rejected his request that Israel release the Palestinian tax revenues it's withholding.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to downplay the decrease in communication, telling reporters on Wednesday that "it doesn't say anything" about the state of the relationship.
But more and more signs of irritation are emerging. "There is immense frustration," a U.S. official said.
If they usually vote Democrat but dont because they like someone better, thats an issue with the the candidate the democts ran. No party is owed a vote because they got it last cycle. Choosing the candidate you like more is how voting works. And if everyone simply decided to wake up and vote that way, democracy wold be working better. Which bring us back to the point that you can only be responsible for your own vote. Voting as if you're responsible for what others are choosing is illogical and it's no wonder that decades of that has gotten us here.
Whatever you say, polls aren't exactly making Biden look like a great choice either. He's gonna need a lot of luck if Michigan goes back to red. At least my idea stops that from happening.
It's not about getting a vote because of the last cycle, it's about getting a vote to defeat Trump.
Nobody else is going to do it, it's Biden or nobody.
Voting for RFK/Stein/West because "Genocide Joe" only enables Trump, who not only is a more extreme Israel supporter, but plans on bringing their worst policies to the United States.
Remember when Israel illegally invaded Southern Lebanon?
These people don't give a shit. They'll be the same people that'll blame democrats for "letting this happen" when trump wins. The irony will be lost on them.
It is the Democrats fault if they lose elections. It's not the job of the voters to vote for Democrats, its the job of the Democrats to apeal to voters. This is basic civics. If a party doesn't appeal to enough voters, who's fault is that?