The New Yorker recently published an extensive interview with US President Joe Biden titled “Joe Biden’s Last Campaign,” where he discusses various topics including the conflict in Gaza. The interview was conducted by Evan Osnos.
The publication highlights that, like many of his predecessors, Biden entered office aiming to steer clear of major upheavals in the Middle East. “No new ventures,” as one of his aides described it.
However, following the Hamas attack on October 7, which Biden labeled as "an act of pure evil," the White House unequivocally backed Israel.
Biden is quoted by The New Yorker as stating in the Oval Office in October: “Hamas and Putin pose different threats, but they have one thing in common: they want to completely destroy their neighboring democracy.”
However, over time, as the conflict in Gaza began to impact Biden's political prospects, Washington's support waned.
When Osnos asked Biden if he intended to exert more pressure on Israeli leaders, the president did not directly respond.
Instead, he remarked, “I understand their anger and frustration. But you cannot let rage consume you to the point where you lose the moral high ground.”
Biden informed the reporter that when he urged the Israelis to exercise greater restraint, he was met with the argument that the United States had used carpet bombing in Germany during World War II.
In response, Biden stated that this was precisely why the UN was established and rules were enacted "to prevent such actions from recurring."
Osnos observes that Biden is holding out hope for a significant deal: convincing Israel to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization with Saudi Arabia, which many Israelis view as a crucial step toward long-term security.
Quoting Biden, Osnos writes, “We could create conditions that would ultimately lead to them continuing to operate—as we did with bin Laden—against Hamas leaders, but not on the basis that every Palestinian is a Hamas supporter.”
Additionally, the American president emphasized, “I strongly urged the Israeli government to apply tough pressure on these out-of-control settlers.”
