After a U.S.- and U.N.-brokered cease-fire fell apart hours after it began — because, Israeli officials said, Hamas “flagrantly violated” the truce —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama’s White House, instructing the administration, “not to ever second-guess me again.”
US President Barack Obama(R) listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, March 3, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
US President Barack Obama(R) listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, March 3, 2014. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
An Israeli official said the Netanyahu government viewed both Hamas and Qatar as having violated the commitment given to the U.S. and the U.N. and that it expected the international community to take practical steps as part of a “strong and swift response,” especially regarding the return of the abducted soldier.
In a phone call with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Netanyahu vented his anger, according to people familiar with the call.
Netanyahu told Shapiro the Obama administration was “not to ever second-guess me again” and that Washington should trust his judgment on how to deal with Hamas, according to the people. Netanyahu added that he now “expected” the U.S. and other countries to fully support Israel’s offensive in Gaza, according to those familiar with the call. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name.
The tongue-lashing from Netanyahu seems to be merely the latest indication that the Obama administration is ill-equipped to settle the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
On Sunday, TheBlaze reported on the Israeli media’s widespread disdain for Secretary of State John Kerry, who was called “pathetic” and “embarrassing” and whose apparently naive approach to the peace process brought comparisons to “an alien, who just disembarked his spaceship in the Mideast.”