Joe Biden and his top advisers believe it is likely that Benjamin Netanyahu will soon be finished as Israel’s prime minister, write Politicociting sources in the Biden administration.
According to the same sources, Biden must have recently expressed this in a conversation with Netanyahu.
More specifically, he is said to have asked Netanyahu to think through what advice he would give to his successor, writes Politico further.
Outside the Israeli Defense Ministry, several relatives of the abducted hostages after the Hamas attack on 7 October have gathered to put pressure on the Israeli government. Reporter: Ralf Lofstad. Video: Magnus Paus. view more
Rejects
Another source in the White House, on the other hand, dismisses it as “pure speculation”.
To Politico, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council denies that the Israeli prime minister’s future has been, or is being discussed by the president.
It is the Security Council that advises the President on security policy matters.
– Our focus is on the immediate crisis, says spokesperson Adrienne Watson to the newspaper.
– This is the end
Pointing to the intelligence scandal
The background for the speculation is supposed to be a perception that Netanyahu’s position has been significantly weakened after Israel failed to protect its citizens against the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, writes Politico further.
1,400 people were killed in the terrorist attack, which was the bloodiest on Israeli soil in 50 years.
This perception is supported by opinion polls which point in the direction of declining support among the population, such as among others Times of Israel have mentioned.
The US may have to choose
The pressure
Last Saturday, Netanyahu was pressed to answer the question of whether he took responsibility for the lack of military presence and poor intelligence on 7 October.
– Everyone must answer for this when the war is over. Now my task is to save the country, Netanyahu said.
He later published a message on X, formerly Twitter, for which he apologized:
Sorry: – I was wrong
– Destroyed political legacy
In October, Dagbladet spoke to Vebjørn Selbekk, social debater and editor of the newspaper Dagen, about Netanyahu’s future.
– This is what he will be remembered for. He has had his political legacy destroyed, he said, among other things.
At the same time, Selbekk predicted that this was the end of Netanyahu’s political career.
– I can’t imagine any scenarios where he survives as prime minister after this.
2023-11-02 06:15:19
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