Brooks: Biden Handled Israel-Hamas Conflict ‘Pretty Well’ by Being ‘a Little Passive’ and Acting in Private

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks praised President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, specifically because Biden didn’t publicly pressure Israel for a cease-fire and that “being a little passive and doing things in private was much more effective than they would have been to do anything in public.”

Brooks stated, “I think he’s handled it pretty well. He’s kept the U.S. out of being the center of the story. He’s learned from some of the mistakes we made in 2014, ending that Gaza war. He was pressured to lean on Bibi and Israel to do the cease-fire or to condemn them publicly. But, if he does that, then Bibi has to push back. So it actually delays the cease-fire, just so Bibi can show his independence. And if he does that, Hamas thinks, oh, the U.S. is leaning on Israel. So, Hamas gets more aggressive. So, this was a case in which being a little passive and doing things in private was much more effective than they would have been to do anything in public. And so, I think the administration was wise, basically, to handle it as they did.”

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