‘Stop bullsh***ing me’: Joe Biden told Israeli PM Netanyahu amid Mideast tensions: Report

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Aug 4, 2024, 9:41 AM IST

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop bullshitting me” during their phone conversation on Thursday, an Israeli media report said Saturday. The outburst had come after Netanyahu told Biden that Israel was moving forward with negotiations on a hostages-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas and would soon send a delegation to resume talks.

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "stop bullshitting me" during their call on Thursday, Channel 12 News said without naming any official sources. Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, was killed in an Israeli attack in Iran a few days before. This remark was made after Netanyahu told Biden that Israel was moving forward with negotiations with Hamas on a hostages-for-ceasefire agreement and that it would shortly send a delegation to continue discussions. President Biden concluded the conversation by saying, "Don't take the president for granted."

As per the report, this remark was made in the context of Israeli-US cooperation in anticipation of a possible full-scale war with Iran and its proxies. This occurs in the midst of rising hostilities as forces sponsored by Tehran and Iran have pledged retaliation for the recent killings of many leaders. In an effort to help counter Iran's unprecedented missile and drone strike on Israel on the evening of April 13–14, President Biden has mobilised regional countries.

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"The prime minister does not interfere in American politics and will work with whoever is elected president, just as he also expects the Americans not to interfere in Israeli politics," the Israel Prime Minister's Office said in an official statement in response to the report later on Saturday, according to The Times of Israel.

Israel on Saturday again traded fire with Hezbollah, carried out a deadly raid in West Bank, and struck a school compound in Gaza City in an attack that the Hamas-ruled territory’s civil defence agency said killed at least 17 people. Several schools turned into displacement shelters have been hit across Gaza in recent weeks, with Israel insisting militants had used the facilities. However, Hamas denied using civilian infrastructure for military activities.

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