Biden says he doesn’t know whether Israel is holding up peace deal to influence 2024 US election

President Joe Biden had terse words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and said he didn’t know whether the Israeli leader was holding up a peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

“No administration has helped Israel more than I have,” Biden said. “None. None, none. And I think Bibi should remember that. And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know but I’m not counting on that.”

Biden, in a rare appearance in the White House press briefing room, was responding to comments made by one of his allies, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who said on CNN this week that he was concerned Netanyahu had little interest in a peace deal in part because of U.S. politics.

Israel has pressed forward on two fronts, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah that left eight Israeli soldiers dead and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children. And the nation has vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack this week, as the region braced for further escalation.

Biden said there had been no decision yet on what type of response there would be toward Iran.

“I’m assuming when they make a decision on how they’re going to respond, we will then have a discussion,” he said.