The Biden administration pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week to change tactics in his country’s war against Hamas, according to a report.
According to NBC News, it is the official position of the State Department that Hamas cannot be defeated.
Per a report from the network, Netanyahu rebuffed an attempt by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week to influence Israeli policy toward its war on terrorism.
A number of unnamed American government officials told NBC the White House would simply go behind Netanyahu’s back to help secure its goals for the Gaza Strip while operating with the mindset that at some point Netanyahu will leave office.
Israel has been fighting in Gaza for months following the terror attacks on Oct. 7, which were launched from Gaza.
Netanyahu has vowed to rid Gaza of Hamas after the unprovoked and historic violence.
NBC News reported Blinken spoke with Netanyahu last week and asked him to consider a two-state solution for the conflict.
Blinken was reportedly rebuffed on that and several other requests. Netanyahu did reportedly agree that Israeli military forces would not launch an offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The American officials who spoke to NBC said the Biden administration told Netanyahu it would not be able to defeat its enemy on the battlefield.
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NBC News reported: “Blinken told Netanyahu that ultimately there is no military solution to Hamas, according to the officials, and that the Israeli leader needs to recognize that, or history will repeat itself and violence will continue. But, the officials said, Netanyahu was unmoved.”
Unpleased with Netanyahu’s opposition to a Palestinian state, the Biden administration reportedly will try to advance that and other goals for the region by looking to potential successors to the Israeli prime minister.
On Blinken’s appeals for Palestinian statehood and on abandoning a prolonged offensive against Hamas, the NBC News report also claimed, “Netanyahu rejected the offer, officials said, telling Blinken that he’s not prepared to make a deal that allows for a Palestinian state.
“And now three senior U.S. officials say the Biden administration is looking past Netanyahu to try to achieve its goals in the region. Several senior U.S. officials told NBC News that Netanyahu ‘will not be there forever.’”
The report concluded, “In an attempt to work around Netanyahu, Blinken also met individually with members of his war Cabinet and other Israeli leaders, including opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, officials said.”
The White House is reportedly frustrated that Netanyahu is unwilling to consider a two-state solution after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the leaders of other Arab countries Blinken has spoken with offered to rebuild Gaza after the war under the condition Palestinians are offered statehood.
Blinken said Wednesday that leaders in the Arab world are hesitant to offer their assistance without securing a solution for long-term peace.
“Arab countries are saying … we’re not going to get into the business, for example, of rebuilding Gaza, only to have it leveled again in a year or five years, and then be asked to rebuild it again,” Blinken told CNBC.
None of Israel’s Arab neighbors have offered to take in Palestinians.
