On video: Biden in a message to Israel: Humanitarian aid to Gaza cannot be a bargaining chip/photo: Reuters
The US president began to carry out a difficult political maneuver - to dissociate himself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his strategy in the war in Gaza, but at the same time continue to stand by Israel in its fight against Hamas, which still holds more than 130 hostages.
why is it important:
If Netanyahu does not change direction, the explosion with the American president will happen soon.
The result could be that Biden will start to put on the brakes when it comes to the IDF's operation in Gaza - especially if the hostage deal does not materialize within a few weeks.
A sense of desperation from Netanyahu and a good coercion on his part.
US President Joe Biden in his State of the Nation Address/Reuters
What they say:
"I think it's important to create a distinction, or at least not to mix, between the government of Israel and the Israeli people," Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS on Friday, trying to describe the direction the president is going.
Behind the Scenes:
There was no single event that led Biden to start changing direction regarding Netanyahu, whom he has known for 40 years.
It was an accumulation of incidents and decisions Netanyahu made in recent months that caused Biden to despair of him, senior American officials said.
The American officials stated that Biden and other officials in the White House and the State Department in Washington are very frustrated by what they see as a favoritism on the part of Netanyahu.
Biden has given Israel unprecedented support over the past five months, at the cost of harsh criticism from within his own party in an election year.
The US president also hoped to use the war to advance his plan for a package deal with Saudi Arabia as part of the day-after strategy.
To a large extent, Biden sees Netanyahu and his refusal as the reason why this deal is getting further and further away.
"To separate the government of Israel from the people of Israel".
US Vice President Kamala Harris/Reuters Wolfgang Rattay
In the news center:
Biden's "State of the Nation" speech was a significant signal of change in Biden towards Netanyahu.
He did not even mention the Prime Minister by name and spoke to what he called "the Israeli leadership".
During the speech, Biden was relatively restrained in his criticism of Israel, but in a hallway conversation after the speech that was caught on camera, the president revealed that what he is revealing about Netanyahu is much more serious.
"I told Bibi: 'You and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting,'" Biden told Democratic Senator Michael Bennett before he saw that his words were being recorded.
In an interview with the MSNBC network last night (Saturday), Biden explained that Come to Jesus meeting is an expression used in the southern state of Delaware, which he represented in the Senate, and which means to hold a serious meeting.
"Bibi understood what I meant," said the president.
Biden said in an interview that Netanyahu must pay much more attention to harming innocent Palestinian civilians during the IDF operation in Gaza.
"He hurts Israel much more than he helps Israel and causes the rest of the world... It contradicts the values that stand at the foundation of Israel. I think this is a big mistake," the president said.
In the face of criticism of Netanyahu, Biden emphasized that he will continue to support Israel.
"I will never abandon Israel. The defense of Israel is still a critical matter," he said.
Without a hostage deal soon, Biden will lose patience.
The families of the abductees block Highway 1/Official website, the headquarters of the families of the abductees and the missing
between the lines:
Biden has reached the same point reached by three of his predecessors - Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump - when it comes to their relationship with Netanyahu.
Clinton managed to break away from Netanyahu without damaging his pro-Israeli image, Obama distanced himself from Netanyahu but lost the people of Israel along the way.
The full implications of the confrontation between Trump and Netanyahu will become clear only when the former president is re-elected in November.
But in Biden's case what is at stake is much more dramatic.
America's biggest ally in the Middle East is in the biggest crisis in more than 50 years, the region is boiling and bubbling towards the beginning of the month of Ramadan and the US presidential election is gaining momentum.
The Rafah operation could become a watershed for the president.
IDF forces in Gaza/IDF spokesman
Why pay attention:
The operation that Netanyahu wants to embark on in Rafah - where there are more than a million Palestinians displaced from their homes in other parts of the Gaza Strip - could be a watershed when it comes to Biden's policy towards the war.
Senior Israeli and American officials believe that if there is no deal to release the abductees, such an operation may be launched as early as April.
Biden made it clear that if it was up to him, it wouldn't happen.
"It's a red line," he said.
More on the same topic:
Gaza war
War of Iron Swords
abducted
Joe Biden