President
Joe
Biden
(L)
listens
to
Israel’s
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu
as
he
joins
a
meeting
of
the
Israeli
war
cabinet
in
Tel
Aviv.
U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
again
told
Israel’s
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu
that
he
should
not
proceed
with
military
action
in
Rafah
without
a
credible
and
executable
plan
to
protect
Palestinian
civilians,
the
White
House
said.
Brendan
Smialowski
|
Afp
|
Getty
Images
President
Joe
Biden
held
a
phone
call
on
Sunday
with
Israel’s
Prime
Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu against
the
backdrop
of
growing
U.S.
college
campus
protests
and
a
possibly imminent
invasion of
Rafah.
The
two
discussed
areas
of
commonality,
with
Biden
“reaffirm[ing]
his
ironclad
commitment
to
Israel’s
security”
after Iran’s
missile
and
drone
attack on
the
country
earlier
this
month,
the
White
House
readout
said.
The
leaders
reviewed
hostage
and
cease-fire
discussions
and
talked
about
humanitarian
aid
in
Gaza
as
well.
But
the
call
also
underscored
daylight
between
the
two
on
Israeli
strategy
in
Gaza’s
southern
city
of Rafah.
Netanyahu
shows
no
signs
of
backing
away
from
a
ground
offensive
there
—
a
potential
move
that
the
U.S.
publicly
opposes.
“The
leaders
discussed
Rafah
and
the
President
reiterated
his
clear
position,”
the readout said.
More
than
a
million
Palestinians
are
currently
sheltering
in
the
city.
Earlier
on
Sunday,
National
Security
Council
spokesperson
John
Kirby said during
an
ABC
News
interview
that
Israelis
have
“assured
us
they
won’t
go
into
Rafah
until
we’ve
had
a
chance
to
really
share
our
perspectives
and
concerns
with
them.”
“So
we’ll
see
where
that
goes,”
he
added.
The
call
comes
as
pro-Palestinian
protests
sweep
across
college
campuses.
Though
protesters’
demands
differ
across
schools,
many
of
the student
organizers are
calling
for
an
end
to
the
war
and
urging
their
universities
to
divest
from
companies
that
do
business
in
Israel.
Biden
has
faced criticism from
progressives
and
Muslim
Americans
for
his
support
for
Israel,
a
longtime
U.S.
ally,
following
Hamas’
surprise
terrorist
attack
on
Oct.
7.
At
the
same
time,
others
have called on
him
to
denounce
the
rising antisemitism
on
college
campuses.
Sunday’s
conversation
was
Biden
and
Netanyahu’s
first
phone
call
since April
4,
when
Biden
spoke
with
Netanyahu
after
an
Israeli
airstrike
killed
seven
World
Central
Kitchen
humanitarian
workers.
During
the
earlier
April
call,
Biden
“emphasized
that
the
strikes
on
humanitarian
workers
and
the
overall
humanitarian
situation
are
unacceptable,”
according
to
the
White
House readout.
In
the
days
following
the
aid
workers’
April
1 deaths,
the
administration’s
public
rhetoric
toward
the
Israeli
government
sharpened
as
the
president
criticized
his
Israeli
counterpart
more
than
he
had
previously. Biden
said in
early
April
that
he
thinks
Netanyahu
is
making
a
“mistake”
with
his
handling
of
the
war,
adding,
“I
don’t
agree
with
his
approach.”
