Difficult partner

Netanyahu is ‘an exceptionally difficult partner,’ Chris Coons says

The comments came after Israel’s prime minister he was “proud” of his efforts to block the creation of Palestinian state.

By KELLY GARRITY

Sen. Chris Coons blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, after he said Saturday night that he was “proud” of his efforts to block the creation of Palestinian state.

Netanyahu “has been an exceptionally difficult partner,” Coons (D-Del.) said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The U.S. has long called for a two-state solution to end the decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and President Joe Biden has described the creation of a Palestinian state as the only way to effectively end the current fighting.

But Israeli leaders have set aside discussions of a two-state solution in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, where Hamas insurgents killed around 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage. Israel has argued that Hamas must be removed from power in Gaza before they can achieve peace.

Since the initial attack, Israel has launched a deadly offensive in Gaza, killing close to 19,000 people and flattening much of the northern part of the region, according to the Associated Press. Around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes into the southern part of Gaza.

U.S. officials have begun to condemn Israel for seemingly indiscriminate killing — which includes the shooting of three hostages by Israeli troops — and some Democratic lawmakers ripped the Biden administration’s decision to bypass Congress and approve the sale of nearly 14,000 tank shells worth roughly $106 million from U.S. Army stocks through an emergency declaration under the Arms Export Control Act.

Additional aid is still tied up in negotiations over funding for Ukraine and the U.S.’s southern border. When a deal could emerge is unclear, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has called for the funding for Israel to only be granted on the condition that Israel change the “military and political positions” of its government.

Coons, a close ally of the Biden administration, directed his jabs at Netanyahu on Sunday. He said President Joe Biden “did the right thing” in rushing to Israel’s aid after the Oct. 7 attack, but that Netanyahu has made things difficult for his American allies.

“Netanyahu has done everything he can to undermine a positive vision for peace for Israel,” he told CBS’ Margaret Brennan.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) similarly slammed Netanyahu for preventing a peace process to move forward.

“Instead of trying to find peace or at least preventing the conditions on the ground from changing with additional settlements to allow a two-state solution, he has shut the door on that effort,” he said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”