Former U.S. President Joe Biden accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of repeatedly promising to take measures to reduce civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip without following through. The accusations appear in excerpts from his new memoir, Promise Me, America, obtained by CNN, which published parts of the book on Friday, November 13.
In his memoir, Biden said that from the beginning of the war, he had urged Israel to take precautions to limit civilian suffering and had repeatedly raised these concerns in private conversations with Netanyahu. According to Biden, Netanyahu acknowledged that the rising Palestinian death toll was damaging Israel's image and undermining the level of American support for the war.
He added that a recurring pattern emerged during that period: Netanyahu would pledge to take additional steps to limit the damage, only for further Israeli military operations to follow, resulting in more civilian casualties.
"When we confronted them about this, the Israelis always had an explanation or an excuse, but the outcome was always the same," Biden said, adding that Netanyahu had no hesitation in making promises "that he had neither the ability nor the intention to keep."
In a direct criticism of the Israeli prime minister, Biden said he understood the considerable pressures Netanyahu was facing, but was frustrated by his failure to act like a statesman seeking to protect Israel's long-term interests, rather than focusing on his immediate political needs.
According to U.S. and Israeli media reports, these excerpts shed light on the tensions that marked relations between Biden and Netanyahu during the war, amid disagreements over the conduct of military operations and the scale of civilian casualties in the Strip.
At the same time, the former U.S. president defended his decision to continue supporting Israel following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, saying he believed he had a duty to support American interests and the interests of U.S. allies.
He noted that he viewed protecting Israel as also involving an effort to protect it from its enemies and from itself, referring to his concerns about the consequences of Israeli policies for the country's future and its international relations.
He also wrote that he had never lost his sense of responsibility for what had happened to Palestinian civilians, noting that a large number of innocent people had been killed and that the suffering of people with no ties to Hamas had been immense. He further pointed out that insufficient quantities of food, water, medicine and fuel had reached Gaza for a prolonged period.
The Memoir Also Addresses Biden's Relationship With Netanyahu
These criticisms appear in a 480-page book scheduled for release on November 17. The memoir also covers key moments from Biden's presidency, including his decision to run in the 2024 election, the pressure he faced to withdraw from the presidential race, and his assessment of his relationships with several political leaders.
According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu did not immediately respond to the excerpts containing Biden's criticisms of him.
