Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass said Tuesday on MSNBC that President Joe Biden is the “most popular man in Israel” at the moment.
MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle asked Haass about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal and political strength.
“One, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s there so long as we’re in this phase of things. He is in charge of a wartime cabinet. It is not a government to govern, it’s not a government, needless to say, at all to make peace,” Haass said. “At some point, when the crisis somewhat settles, these investigations, these inquiries into how October 7 ever could have been allowed to happen, he’s extraordinarily vulnerable. Right now, he’s lost a lot of confidence of the Israeli people. Joe Biden is the most popular man in Israel, much more so than Bibi Netanyahu, who’s lost in some ways what the Chinese would call the Mandate of Heaven.”
Haass then argued Israel needs to set “achievable goals” and that a ground invasion would not have a good “return on investment.” (RELATED: White House Appears To Reveal Identities Of Special Operators In Israel In Social Media Post)
“To set a goal of destroying Hamas is setting themselves up for failure,” Haass continued. “You’ll have a lot of civilian casualties. It’ll create space between the United States and Israel. [The] United States can’t dictate to Israel, but we are right to be advising restraint against a large ground operation where, I fear, it’s setting Israel up for failure, and that’s the last thing Israel needs, given the events of October 7. It’s important they have something that looks like a victory, that reestablishes deterrence.”
Biden has expressed solidarity with Israel amid the devastating Hamas terrorist attack launched at daybreak Oct. 7, which has claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people in Israel, including 31 Americans. Biden visited Israel in mid-October and has offered ceasefire discussions if Hamas releases its hostages.