Achi news desk-
President Joe Biden said Arab countries including Saudi Arabia were ready to “fully recognize Israel” in a future deal as he and his Democratic predecessors Bill Clinton and Barack Obama hit back at critics of his Middle East policies at an event campaign on Thursday.
Biden’s comments came during a discussion with his fellow presidents at a star-studded fundraiser at the Radio City Music Hall in New York with the intention of demonstrating the unity of the Democratic party before a rematch in the general election with Republican Donald Trump. However, the presidents were interrupted at least four times by pro-Palestinian protesters, highlighting the tensions within the party over Biden’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“I’ve been working with the Saudis and with all the other Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan and Qatar. They are ready to fully recognize Israel,” Biden said after one such interruption. “There must be a post-Gza plan, and there must be trade to a two-state solution. It doesn’t have to happen today. It has to be a progression and I think we can do that.”
Obama offered his support to Biden, responding to another protester by saying “you can’t talk and not listen.” He said Biden, his one-time vice president, had shown “moral conviction and clarity” in his job and was “willing to recognize that the world is complicated.”
“He’s willing to listen to all sides in this debate, and every other debate and try to see if we can find common ground,” Obama said. “That’s the kind of president I want.”
Biden has faced pressure from progressives and Muslim and Arab Americans who want the administration to do more to curb Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to root out Hamas.
Biden has pushed for talks to try to broker a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas that could allow for the release of more Israeli hostages and more humanitarian aid to Gaza. And he is increasingly turning heads with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a ground attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge.
The two countries are working to reschedule a high-level visit by an Israeli delegation to discuss alternatives to a military operation on Rafah. Netanyahu scrapped plans for a visit earlier this week after the US refused to veto a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza – in a public sign of strained relations between the two a leader
“There are too many innocent victims, Israelis and Palestinians,” Biden said Thursday, adding that more needs to be done to get food and medical supplies to Gaza.
“But we are in a situation where the very existence of Israel is at stake. All those people were killed,” he continued of the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, which is labeled a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
“It is understandable that Israel has such intense anger and Hamas is still there, but we must act, stop the effort that leads to significant deaths of innocent civilians and especially children.”
Earlier: Biden Raises $25 Million in NYC, Extending Cash Over Trump
The discussion between the presidents on Thursday was moderated by Stephen Colbert. Biden’s one-day fundraising blitz in New York City – the hometown of presumptive Republican nominee Trump – raised $25 million, and highlights the changing fortunes of the two during a critical period in their general election re-election bid.
The president has stepped up his campaign tours in recent weeks, visiting battleground states and courting Democratic donors ahead of what is expected to be the most expensive presidential election in US history. Biden has already built a financial lead over Trump — Thursday’s haul is more than double what his opponent raised in all of February, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll also shows Biden narrowing the gap with Trump among voters in six of seven swing states this month, though the Republican still leads overall in those battlegrounds 47% to 43 %.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
