Prominent American writer Thomas Friedman has directed his sharp criticism at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his mishandling of the war in the Gaza Strip and his attempt to save his political future at the expense of Israel's supreme interests.
He wrote in his weekly article in the New York Times, reminding US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that Netanyahu "is not their friend, and worse yet, he is not a friend of the Israeli hostages" held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza.
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He added that Netanyahu is using Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7 as a pretext to prolong the ceasefire negotiations, and that his "sole interest" in doing so is preserving his political future, even if it undermines Israel's long-term survival.
Warning to Harris
Friedman addressed Kamala Harris, warning her that Netanyahu, in order to save his political future, will do things in the next two months that could seriously harm her chances of winning the US presidential elections, and enhance the chances of her Republican opponent Donald Trump winning, and therefore she should be afraid of that.
He said, addressing President Biden, "Tell me if Netanyahu is fooling you. Because in every call you make with him, you come out with optimistic statements about the imminent reaching of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and then he tells his supporters something else."
He pointed out that Netanyahu is one of the factors that made him reach a general rule in writing his reports on the Middle East; which is that "officials in Washington tell you the truth in private and lie in public, but in the Middle East, officials lie to you in private and tell the truth in public."
Therefore, Friedman advises Biden, saying, "Never trust what they tell you in private, especially Netanyahu. And only listen to what they say in public to their people in their own languages."
The writer then moved on to talk about the importance of knowing the doctrine adopted by both Biden and Netanyahu in the Middle East.
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Friedman: This is what awaits Trump, Harris and Israel if Netanyahu wins
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Harris meets with Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, July 25, 2024 (Reuters)
4/9/2024
Prominent American writer Thomas Friedman has directed his sharp criticism at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his mishandling of the war in the Gaza Strip, and his attempt to save his political future at the expense of Israel's supreme interests.
In his weekly column in the New York Times, he reminded US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that Netanyahu "is not their friend, and worse, he is not a friend of the Israeli hostages" held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza.
Read also
list of 2 items
list 1 of 2
Crisis Group: Security Council sanctions face threats and may be reduced next year
list 2 of 2
Israeli media: Philadelphia or the "hostages"? In both cases, Israel is the loser
end of list
He added that Netanyahu is using Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7 as a pretext to prolong the ceasefire negotiations, and that his "sole interest" in doing so is to preserve his political future, even if it undermines Israel's long-term survival.
Warning to Harris
Friedman addressed Kamala Harris, warning her that Netanyahu, in order to save his political future, will do things in the next two months that could seriously harm her chances of winning the US presidential elections, and enhance the chances of her Republican opponent Donald Trump winning, and therefore she should be afraid of that.
He said, addressing President Biden, "Tell me if Netanyahu is fooling you. Because in every call you make with him, you come out with optimistic statements about the imminent reaching of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and then he tells his supporters something else."
He pointed out that Netanyahu is one of the factors that made him reach a general rule in writing his reports on the Middle East; which is that "officials in Washington tell you the truth in private and lie in public, but in the Middle East, officials lie to you in private and tell the truth in public."
Therefore, Friedman advises Biden, saying, "Never trust what they tell you in private, especially Netanyahu. And only listen to what they say in public to their people in their own languages."
The writer then moved on to talk about the importance of knowing the doctrine that both Biden and Netanyahu adopt in the Middle East.
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He said that the Biden administration has established a "wonderful" set of regional alliances with partners extending from Japan, South Korea and the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific region, to India and the Arabian Gulf, and even NATO in Europe.
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Advantages for America and Israel
The US administration has "wisely" sought to combine the Biden doctrine with a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange agreement, by emphasizing the important advantages for both Israel and America, which Friedman believes could lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the Israeli hostages.
It could also give the “exhausted” army and reserve forces a much-needed break to catch their breath, “because a truce in Gaza could force Hezbollah to cease fire from Lebanon as well.”
If Israel agrees to hold talks with the Palestinian Authority on a two-state solution, the American writer expects that this will pave the way for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, which he describes as “a major strategic gain for Israel.”
It would also create the conditions for sending peacekeeping forces to Gaza from the Emirates, Morocco and Egypt in cooperation with a “more competent” Palestinian Authority, so that Israel does not have to occupy the Strip permanently, and “a moderate, legitimate Palestinian government replaces Hamas,” according to the American Jewish writer.