In step with his rhetoric in the days following Hamas’s massacre last weekend, President Joe Biden was firm in the United States’s support for Israel, but he also was clear in differentiating between the militant group and Palestinian civilians, calling a possible Israeli occupation of Gaza “a big mistake.”
Biden’s answers on CBS News’s 60 Minutes underscored the fragile situation the president finds himself in. He likely feels the need to support America’s biggest Middle Eastern ally in the wake of what has been called “Israel’s 9/11” while not abandoning in front of the world millions of civilians in Gaza and the idea of a two-state solution.
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“I think it’d be a big mistake. Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas, and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that … It would be a mistake … for Israel to occupy Gaza again,” Biden told Scott Pelley, adding that he doesn’t foresee the need for any U.S. troops in a Middle Eastern war.
“Israel has one of the finest fighting forces in the country,” the president added in a gaffe, something that has been a popular criticism of him by his detractors, pointing to his age and mental competency. “I guarantee we’re gonna provide them everything they need.”
The presumptive Democratic 2024 presidential nominee advocated the complete elimination of Hamas but said there “needs to be a Palestinian authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.” The president also said he would like to see a “humanitarian corridor” that allows Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza, as well as aid being brought to the residents there.
But Biden was still unwavering in his support for Israel, most notably as it pertained to the country’s objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages being held by the group, some of whom are confirmed to be American.
“Look, there’s a fundamental difference,” the president said in response to Pelley asking if it’s time for a ceasefire. “Israel is going after a group of people who have engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust. So, I think Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas.”
“Hamas is a bunch of cowards. They’re hiding behind the civilians. They put their headquarters where civilians are and buildings and the like. But to the extent they can separate out and … the Israelis are gonna do everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians,” Biden continued.
Biden faces growing impediments to his objectives ahead of a consequential 2024 election. He wants to send more aid to Ukraine and Israel amid their wars, but he faces a House of Representatives at a standstill without a speaker and opposition from hard-line conservatives, even if there was one.
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Many Biden opponents have pointed to the turbulent status of the southern border as more concerning than anything happening abroad. To the 46th president, he does not see the situation as a zero-sum game.
“We’re the United States of America, for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history — not in the world, in the history of the world. The history of the world,” Biden said. “We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense.”
