Netanyahu making a 'mistake', claims Biden
US President Joe Biden has blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to Gaza as a “mistake”.
“I think what he’s doing is a mistake," he said in an interview. "I don’t agree with his approach.”
Biden’s remarks were some of his strongest criticism yet of Netayhanu, as tensions between Israel and its principal ally soar over the mounting death toll in Gaza.
The Democrat leader also called for a ceasefire, warning US support depended on whether Israel would allow in more aid to the Palestinian enclave.
He called an Israeli drone attack that killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen last week “outrageous”.
The hour-long interview was recorded last Wednesday and it aired on Tuesday night on US Spanish-language network Univision.
“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” said Biden.
“There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now.”
Gaza sparks trade dispute between Turkey and Israel
Turkey and Israel have slapped trade barriers on one another as relations plummet over the war in Gaza.
Ankara on Tuesday announced export restrictions on 54 types of products to Israel with immediate effect, including metals, jet fuel and chemical fertilisers.
Israel said it was preparing a ban on Turkish products in response.
The announcements came a day after Israel barred Turkish military cargo planes from airdropping aid into Gaza.
“There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to deliver aid by air to starving people of Gaza,” said Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan.
Stung by a local election loss last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced intense pressure from voters to halt trade with Israel.
Critics accuse Ankara of double standards by denouncing Israel yet continuing lucrative commercial relations.
Erdogan has said Israel’s actions in Gaza verge on “genocide” and called Hamas - deemed a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and the European Union - freedom fighters.
In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Erdogan was “once again sacrificing the economic interests of the people of Turkey for his support of the Hamas murderers in Gaza.”
He claimed he had asked US organisations to stop investing in Turkey and importing Turkish goods.
