Who is The Son of a Bi***?

“That son of a bi***, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy!” US President Joe Biden declared privately about the Israeli prime minister to one of his associates in the spring of 2024 as Israel’s war in Gaza intensified, journalist Bob Woodward writes in his new book, “War.”

Woodward’s new book, which was obtained by CNN ahead of its October 15 release, gives an in-the-room account of key moments as Biden and his national security team navigate international crises, from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to confronting Putin before he invaded Ukraine to private battles with Netanyahu.

Asked about the details that Woodward reports about Biden and Netanyahu, White House senior deputy press secretary Emilie Simons told reporters Tuesday, “They have a long-term relationship. They have a very honest and direct relationship, and I don’t have a comment on those specific anecdotes.”

“What’s your strategy, man?” Biden asked Netanyahu during an April phone call, Woodward reports.

“We have to go into Rafah,” Netanyahu said.

“Bibi, you’ve got no strategy.” Biden responded.

That same month, Israel launched a strike in Syria that killed a top general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, prompting Iran to launch more than 100 ballistic missiles in response, the first time that Iran had fired missiles from its territory directly at Israel.

Netanyahu wanted to retaliate.

Biden told Netanyahu on a call to “take the win,” though the Israeli prime minister pushed back. “You don’t need to make another move. Do nothing,” Biden said.

In the end, Israel launched a limited strike against Iran, which Biden considered a win.

“I know he’s going to do something but the way I limit it is tell him to ‘Do nothing,’” Biden told his advisers, according to Woodward.

But Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu boiled over as the war in Gaza continued to escalate.

“He’s a fucking liar,” Biden said privately of Netanyahu, after Israel went into Rafah, Woodward writes.

“Bibi, what the fuck?” Biden yelled at Netanyahu in July after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hezbollah military commander and three civilians in Beirut, according to Woodward.

“You know the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” Biden said to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu responded that the target was “one of the leading terrorists.”

“We saw an opportunity and took it,” Netanyahu said. “The harder you hit, the more successful you’re going to be in the negotiation” according to the Quds News Network.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called Sunday for an “international protection presence” in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, saying such a deployment was “absolutely urgent.”

“Third states have an obligation, per the ICJ, to act to end Israel’s unlawful occupation,” Albanese wrote on the US social media platform X, referring to a July 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice that deemed Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and said states must not assist in maintaining it.

Albanese also questioned whether UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ diplomatic efforts and the General Assembly’s “Uniting for Peace” mechanism could overcome the Security Council’s deadlock on the conflict.

The mechanism allows the General Assembly to consider international peace and security issues when the Security Council cannot act because of a lack of unanimity among its permanent members. The council has repeatedly been unable to take action on Gaza and the West Bank amid vetoes by the US. Anadolu

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40 Million Tons of Rubble: Gaza Ministry Faces Challenges in Removing it

Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing confirmed that Israel’s ongoing targeting of tents and shelters of displaced people in the enclave is a systematic policy of destroying the basic necessities of life. It noted the amount of rubble that has piled up in the various regions of the Strip has exceeded 40 million tons.

Ministry spokesman Najla Hammad told the Sanad News Agency, Monday, the ministry is facing unprecedented challenges in removing the rubble because of the severe shortage of heavy machinery due to the Israeli-imposed blockade and the closure of crossings.

Hammad pointed out that the recent Israeli aggression has displaced more than 80 families, leaving them homeless and exposed, noting the ministry received widespread appeals to replace the tents that have been damaged and/or completely destroyed.

Read also: “Public Works”: Only 5% of shelter supplies enter Gaza

She added what is making things worse is that the Israeli occupation is preventing the entry of tents, tarpaulins, and shelter supplies and the reduction of usable land in the Gaza Strip to less than 30%.

Hammad explained that crews are continuing to work on opening main roads and providing alternative spaces for service facilities and educational centers but tough going. However, she announced the completion of the removal of the rubble at the site of the Hijazi Clinic in northern Gaza, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and its handover to the Ministry of Health for reconstruction.

She indicated that the demolition and clearing of rubble is currently limited to only 4 out of the 10 sites previously identified, due to security restrictions and a lack of heavy equipment. The teams are operating with only one excavator and a very limited number of trucks.

Hammad noted the use of local alternatives and solutions, such as recycling crushed rubble to level roads and areas threatened by flooding, and melting plastic and aluminum to recycle supplies for health units in the camps is also moving.

UN reports confirm that the scale of destruction and rubble in the Gaza Strip surpasses that of major wars and conflicts in modern history. International organizations warn that preventing the entry of machinery, engineering equipment, and shelter materials exacerbates the humanitarian, environmental, and health catastrophe, hindering the provision of even the most basic services to more than two million displaced people lacking safe shelter.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza previously warned in August of the severe deterioration in the housing sector due to the widespread presence of tons of rubble. It emphasized that the aid and tents permitted entry by the Israeli occupation amount to no more than 5% of the actual needs of the displaced, given the strict restrictions at the crossings and the repeated forced displacement.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing launched an emergency program to repair and renovate partially damaged homes in the Gaza Strip, a step aimed at persuading and facilitating the return of displaced families to their homes and original areas.

Last June, Hammad, announced a comprehensive plan for managing, storing, and crushing rubble for reuse, as part of the ongoing efforts to address the issue of debris resulting from the conflict.

Hammad said that the Ministry is presently working with the UNDP and have to-date  constructed more than 15 shelters that have accommodated over 1,700 displaced families in the Gaza Strip, including five centers in the south that alone have housed approximately 700 families.

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