Former US president Joe Biden expressed frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his new memoir, accusing him of ignoring US demands to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza, making empty promises, and prioritizing his political interests over Israel's well-being in excerpts published by CNN on Friday.
The excerpts from Promise Me, America describe deteriorating relations between Biden and Netanyahu following the October 7 attacks.
“I had been calling on Israel to take precautions to reduce civilian suffering since the beginning of the conflict,” Biden writes.
Biden claimed Netanyahu even acknowledged that rising Palestinian casualties were damaging Israel's image and American support for the war, yet repeatedly failed to change Israel's conduct.
"When we called them on it, the Israelis always had an explanation or excuse, but the result was the same," Biden writes.
Biden also questioned Netanyahu's trustworthiness, accusing him of prioritizing political survival over Israel's long-term interests.
"Bibi had no qualms about making promises he had no power – or intention – to keep," Biden writes.
"I was frustrated by his failure to think like a statesman and safeguard Israel’s long-term interests, not just his own short-term political needs,” he added.
Former Biden officials recount tensions with Netanyahu
Biden's account follows several memoirs by former administration officials detailing tensions with Netanyahu during the war.
Brett McGurk, who served as Deputy Assistant to President Biden and National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa and led hostage negotiations, detailed the tensions between Biden and Netanyahu in his book Brink, published last month.
Following the April 2024 Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, McGurk recalled Biden confronting Netanyahu in what he descibed as a "boiling point."
Biden and Netanyahu clashed over multiple decisions, including the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, which Netanyahu said could strengthen Israel's position and Biden thought could put hostage negotiations at risk.
However, McGurk placed most responsibility for the negotiating deadlock on Hamas, arguing that public US pressure on Israel strengthened the terrorist organization's position.
Phil Gordon, Vice President Kamala Harris's national security adviser, told The Jerusalem Post in October that McGurk's account was not the full story and that Netanyahu introduced additional demands in July 2024 that delayed an agreement by approximately six months.
These included maintaining IDF forces along the Philadelphi Corridor and monitoring Palestinians returning to northern Gaza. Gordon argued that these conditions made an agreement impossible for another six months during which, he wrote, nearly 9,000 additional Palestinians were killed, while more Israeli hostages died, including the six hostages executed by Hamas in August 2024.
Later, he stressed that no one could know with certainty whether greater flexibility by Netanyahu would have produced an agreement in the summer of 2024.
Nevertheless, he argued that Netanyahu's insistence on those conditions had a clear consequence.
Harris criticizes Netanyahu, Biden
Harris also criticized Netanyahu in her memoir, 107 Days, published last year, claiming he preferred Donald Trump's return to the White House because he believed Trump would support more aggressive plans for Gaza.
"He wanted Trump to be the one sitting across from him," Harris wrote.
Harris also accused Netanyahu of stalling negotiations during a July 2024 meeting.
She criticized Biden as well, arguing that he struggled to demonstrate the same empathy for Palestinian suffering that he expressed toward Israeli and Ukrainian civilians.
Biden addresses criticism of his mental fitness
Biden also challenges allegations of declining mental fitness, particularly those raised by special counsel Robert Hur in February 2024.
He notes that investigators interviewed him on October 8 and 9, 2023, immediately after the Hamas attacks.
"I had been up all night dealing with the aftershocks of a profound change to the global order. Go ask the Israeli leadership if they thought they were dealing with a diminished president that day," Biden writes.
The 480-page memoir is scheduled for publication on November 17.
Biden, 83, is battling advanced prostate cancer that has spread to his bones and plans to reduce promotional appearances.
In an interview with People this week, Biden said he would not have sought reelection had he known about his illness.
"I don't think an 80-year-old man with cancer should run for election," he said.