President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday he is joining calls for a ceasefire in the escalating Israel-Palestine conflict.
Biden, according to a readout of the call with the Israeli leader released by the White House Monday evening, “reiterated his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks” and “welcomed efforts to address intercommunal violence and to bring calm to Jerusalem.”
WHITE HOUSE BREAKS WITH ALLIES, PURSUES ‘QUIET DIPLOMACY’ OVER CEASEFIRE
The president further “encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians” and “expressed his support for a ceasefire.”
The call suggests a shift in the administration’s stance on the subject. Just hours earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about whether her boss would join calls for a halting of the back-and-forth rocket and missile strikes, indicating Biden was not in support. About an hour later, the U.S. leader did not directly answer a reporter’s question on the same topic, only saying he intended to speak with his Israeli counterpart after his latest remarks on the federal COVID response.
Psaki had told reporters the administration instead was focused on a campaign of “quiet diplomacy” in lieu of joining calls for a ceasefire from some longtime U.S. allies and members of Congress.
“Of course we want to de-escalate as quickly as possible, but yes, it would require actions from Israel,” Psaki said. “It would require actions from Hamas to end the violence on the ground.”
The readout also excluded any mention of alleged evidence, gathered by the Israeli military, indicating that Hamas was operating out of an office building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes over the weekend. The building also housed bureaus for the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and other outlets.
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Netanyahu defended the strike during a televised interview on Sunday, claiming that Israel had already handed over that evidence to the United States through routine intelligence channels, yet Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied having reviewed any such evidence on Monday.
