Former U.S. President Joe Biden sharply criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his new memoir, accusing him of breaking promises to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza and of putting his own political survival ahead of Israel’s long-term interests.
In excerpts from Promise Me, America published by CNN on Friday, Biden writes that Netanyahu made promises he had “no power, or intention, to keep.” He adds that while he understood Netanyahu was under severe pressure, he was frustrated by his “failure to think like a statesman.”
Biden writes that he raised his concerns in many private conversations with Netanyahu during the war. According to Biden, a pattern emerged in which Netanyahu would commit to doing more to protect civilians, only for further Israeli operations to follow. He also writes that after Netanyahu’s return to power at the end of 2022, he came to see protecting Israel as protecting it from its enemies and from itself.
Biden says his hopes for Middle East peace were shattered by the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, and recalls calling Netanyahu several times that day.
The book adds to a series of accounts from former Biden administration figures criticizing Netanyahu, including former Vice President Kamala Harris’s memoir 107 Days, published last year, and Bob Woodward’s 2024 book War. Netanyahu has consistently argued that Israel’s military campaign was necessary to defeat Hamas and return the hostages.
The 480-page memoir is due out on November 17.
