Hunter Biden, son of former US president Joe Biden, said Jews are less safe globally due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions and that Netanyahu's responses to Iran and Hamas's October 7 massacre are calculated to consolidate power, in a Monday interview with Channel 5’s Andrew Callaghan.
Biden began by addressing the global backlash against Jews, which he linked to Netanyahu’s leadership. "What’s happening is that Jewish people globally are being lumped in with the horrific acts of Benjamin Netanyahu," he said.
"People are associating all Jews with the actions of Netanyahu, and that’s a problem." He stressed that many Jews, particularly those outside Israel, do not support Netanyahu's approach but are nonetheless being targeted. "Not all Jews support what Netanyahu is doing, but they’re still being targeted because of it," Biden remarked.
Biden also insinuated that Israel, or Netanyahu specifically, had intelligence on Hamas's October 7 massacre prior to the event. "If the Mossad had the [defense] plans for the October 7 attack a year before it occurred, why were you not prepared? Why did you not have soldiers in the southern part of Israel, where the attacks occurred, for up to 7-12 hours?" he asked, questioning the failure to act on intelligence.
Biden criticized Israel’s military response to Hamas, arguing that bombing Gaza would only perpetuate violence. "No matter what, unless you literally kill every single person that inhabits Gaza right now, you would have a generation upon generation that would justifiably haunt Israel and haunt the United States," he said.
He went on to describe the idea of bombing Gaza into submission as unworkable. "Bombing the f*** out of whatever remains of Hamas in Gaza and turning it into a golf course like Donald Trump said is not going to work," he stated.
Turning to Netanyahu’s repeated warnings about Iran’s nuclear threat, Biden suggested that Netanyahu had been using the Iran threat as a political tool. "Netanyahu has been wrong every time," Biden said. "He’s the boy who cried wolf. And one day the wolf is going to be pushed." He pointed out the consistency of Netanyahu’s warnings, noting how Netanyahu has warned about a potential nuclear weapon since 1996.
Biden also criticized Netanyahu for not prioritizing the release of hostages held by Hamas. "He hasn’t said one thing about how many people are still hostages that he refuses to negotiate for," Biden remarked. He pointed out Netanyahu’s focus on personal matters, like his son’s canceled wedding, instead of addressing the hostage situation: "He talks about his son’s canceled wedding, but not a word about the hostages. That to me is a monster."
He clarified that his criticisms are against Netanyahu and not the state of Israel. "And I support Israel. And I definitely support my Jewish wife and my Jewish son. And I believe in the right of the state of Israel to exist in peace and prosperity. How do we talk about it without offending everyone?"
On the issue of mass deportation of Palestinians, Biden rejected the idea, calling it unrealistic. "There’s not one regional partner that could possibly handle the mass deportation of Palestinians—Egypt, Jordan, Syria, none of them would accept that population," he stated.
'Lebanon's experience with Palestinian refugees completely destabilized the country'
Biden then cited Lebanon as an example of why displacing Palestinian refugees would have long-term consequences. "Lebanon’s experience with Palestinian refugees has completely destabilized the country," Biden said. "Palestinian refugees settled in Beirut, and Beirut has never been the same. Lebanon has never been the same."
"You have this situation where everyone wants to protect the Palestinians, but no one wants to take the Palestinians," he noted.
Despite his criticisms, Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution. "I am a firm believer in the right of the state of Israel to exist, but I’m also a firm believer in the right of the state of Palestine to exist," he said. "A two-state solution is the only realistic path forward."