It’s not only important what President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say during their phone call Thursday, but whether the White House changes anything in its approach on Israel as a result, former UN Ambassador John Bolton said on Newsmax, while expressing doubts anything will change.
“I don’t see it in the works at this point, but we’ll see how the phone call goes,” Bolton told “Newsline,” adding that he knows Biden will “vent” to Netanyahu about the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen workers in an airstrike three days ago in Gaza.
“This hit on the trucks of the World Global Kitchen is obviously a tragedy,” Bolton said. “The Israelis have acknowledged responsibility. They’ve apologized for it. They’ve said it was a mistaken identification. They’re investigating it and I have confidence that if they find somebody who made a rogue decision they’ll be brought to justice as we would bring somebody to justice in the American military.
Still, Bolton said Hamas is responsible “morally and operationally” for what happens in Gaza after it launched its campaign against Israel last October.
“[They have been] barbaric against the Israelis and have been barbaric in the way they treat their own people as human shields, and I think that’s the case Netanyahu will make to Biden,” he added.
But Biden is “frustrated” about Israel for several other reasons, said Bolton.
“A lot of them have to do with American domestic politics and the split within the Democratic Party,” Bolton said.
Meanwhile, Israel is bracing itself against a potential retaliatory attack from Iran over a bombing strike earlier this week that took out several key leaders of the Iran Quds Force, but Iran must weigh action, as it could be the signal for Israel to mount operations against Hezbollah or Iran directly, said Bolton.
“Iran is responsible for the situation in the region so this will be a test to see whether they have a larger set of objectives in mind beyond the Hamas attack out of the Gaza Strip,” he added. “This is a very critical moment.”
Biden is walking a “very fine line” because of his decreasing support of Israel, said Bolton.
“We’ve had broad bipartisan support for Israel in this country for many years, but the left wing of the Democratic Party has moved in a clearly anti-Israel direction and in a very close election this November, dependent on a very few swing states, that could be real trouble for Biden,” said Bolton.
Biden, meanwhile, is wishing for a cease-fire, but Bolton said the Israeli government and people are not there yet.
“They are committed to eliminating Hamas, militarily and politically,” he said. “It’s not a matter of just Bibi Netanyahu. This is the Israeli population, I think, overwhelmingly behind that view and to go into Rafah and finish Hamas off.”
Bolton also discussed the observance of the 75th anniversary of NATO, and what he believes could happen if former President Donald Trump, who has called on member nations to pay their fair share, is elected to return to the White House this November.
“I think Trump remains very anti-NATO,” even though he’s made conciliatory comments, said Bolton. “I think it’s a very dangerous time to undermine NATO. In any respect, it’s the strongest, most successful political-military alliance in history, and it’s been very advantageous for the United States over the years and remains a key pillar of our national security. I think we should support it strongly.”
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