Differences between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Barack Obama have resurfaced days before Israel’s legislative elections on October 27, with the race expected to be closely contested.
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Relations between the two leaders were marked by tensions throughout their years in power, and those differences have now re-emerged nearly a decade after Obama completed his second presidential term.
Without naming Obama directly, Netanyahu on Friday criticized remarks by the former US president, who said Israel had “lost its moral advantage” in its treatment of Palestinians.
Speaking at an event in Belfast on Tuesday, Obama said: “I said this directly to Netanyahu when I was president: At some point, in order to break this cycle, the stronger side has a responsibility by virtue of its strength.”
He added that if Israel’s position was that, as the region’s dominant military and technological power, it could secure itself by doing whatever it wanted and taking whatever it wanted without making concessions, “that may work in the short term, but it will ultimately be a catastrophe for Israel.”
Obama also strongly criticized Hamas over its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu Responds
Israeli media also highlighted another part of Obama’s remarks concerning the establishment of Israel in 1948. Obama said the Jewish people had faced persecution, discrimination and killings for centuries, with Europe responsible for a large part of that history.
“They sought, understandably, refuge in a place with which they had historic ties, and that cannot be denied,” Obama said. “But what also cannot be denied is that they took the land of another people. Those people were displaced.”
Referring to Palestinians, he said: “It is natural for those people to say that this is unjust and that they want their land back.”
Netanyahu responded by posting a video containing excerpts from Obama’s remarks and described them as “regrettable.”
“The Jewish people are not foreign occupiers in the land of their ancestors. Our history is not a colonial project, and our land is not stolen,” Netanyahu said. “This is our homeland. Its name is Judea,” using the Israeli designation for the southern part of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Netanyahu had sharp disagreements with Obama during his two presidential terms from 2009 to 2017, particularly over the US administration’s policy toward Iran.
Ahead of Israel’s elections on October 27, Netanyahu has again accused foreign actors of seeking to remove him from power, particularly attacking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is known for his criticism of Israel.
Source:Agencies
