WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden held a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday against the backdrop of growing protests on American college campuses and a possible impending invasion of Rafah.
The two discussed areas of commonality, with Biden “reaffirming[ing] its strong commitment to Israel’s security” following the Iranian missile and drone attack on the country earlier this month, the White House readout said. The leaders discussed hostage-taking and ceasefire discussions and also discussed humanitarian aid in Gaza.
But the call also underscored the daylight between the two over Israel’s strategy in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Netanyahu shows no signs of backing down from a ground offensive there – a possible move that the US publicly opposes.
“The leaders discussed Rafah and the president reiterated his clear position,” the readout said.
More than a million Palestinians are currently sheltering in the city.
Earlier on Sunday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during an interview with ABC News that the Israelis “have assured us that they will not enter Rafah until we have had an opportunity to really share our perspectives and concerns with them.”
“So we’ll see where that goes,” he added.
The call comes as pro-Palestinian protests sweep college campuses. While the protesters’ demands vary by school, many student organizers are calling for an end to the war and urging their universities to divest from companies doing business in Israel.
Biden has faced criticism from progressives and Muslim Americans for his support for Israel, a longtime US ally, following Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack on October 7. At the same time, others have called on him to denounce rising anti-Semitism on college campuses.
Sunday’s conversation was the first between Biden and Netanyahu since April 4, when Biden spoke with Netanyahu after an Israeli airstrike killed seven humanitarian workers from the World Central Kitchen.
During the earlier call in April, Biden emphasized “that the attacks on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” according to the White House readout.
In the days following the deaths of the aid workers on April 1, the administration’s public rhetoric against the Israeli government intensified, as the president criticized his Israeli counterpart more than before. Biden said in early April that he thinks Netanyahu is making a “mistake” in his handling of the war, adding: “I don’t agree with his approach.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
