US President Joe Biden hung up the phone on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their last call, in new evidence of the expansion of the dispute between them as a result of the war.
According to the American website Axios, “Biden and Netanyahu, who remained in almost daily contact in the first two months of the war, have not spoken to each other in 20 days since a tense call on December 23, which a frustrated Biden ended with the words: ‘This conversation is over.’”
The website stated that before When Biden hung up the phone, Netanyahu rejected his request that Israel release the Palestinian tax revenues it is withholding.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tried to downplay the decline in communications, telling reporters on Wednesday that it “doesn’t say anything” about the nature of the relationship.
The website quoted American officials as saying that Biden and senior officials in his administration are frustrated with Netanyahu for rejecting requests from Washington related to the war on Gaza, which represents a priority for the United States.
In addition to the issue of tax revenues, Biden and his advisors believe that Israel is not doing enough to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. They are also frustrated by Netanyahu’s unwillingness to seriously discuss plans for the day after the war and his rejection of the US plan to reform the Palestinian Authority to have a role in the “post-Hamas Gaza” era.
dijlah.tv
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