Israel’s Haaretz daily led with an editorial response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden had outlined the necessity for a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine and blamed Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for blocking such an approach. Biden’s implication was that should Netanyahu dump Ben-Gvir, he could then align with the U.S. on a workable policy.
Haaretz, even on the same day that it ran a long, blistering attack on Ben-Gvir’s dangerous misuse of the Security Ministry, took issue with Biden, writing, in part:
“In describing the political situation in Israel, Biden even did Netanyahu a favor when he said the Prime Minister ‘is a good friend, but I think he has to change—with this government.’ Later he explained that ‘this is the most conservative government in Israel’s history’ and ‘I’ve known every single head of state in Israel since Golda Meir. ... And this is a different group. Ben-Gvir and company and the new folks, they—they don’t want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution.'
“However, the truth is even worse,” Haaretz wrote. “Netanyahu’s government is anything but conservative. It’s a revolutionary, rightist, radical, messianic government that advanced a regime coup and is dreaming of annexing the territories.
