Netanyahu, Who Clashed With Biden, Prepares for a Delicate Farewell

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is unlikely to immediately change his approach to the Gaza war following President Biden’s decision to stand aside, even if he may privately welcome the president’s departure from the race, analysts said.

Mr. Netanyahu would most likely have freer rein in Gaza under a potential new Trump administration, but the prime minister must still work with Mr. Biden for the next six months, leaving him with little immediate room for maneuver, they said.

Until January, Mr. Biden will control the delivery of U.S. munitions to Israel, as well as the level of U.S. diplomatic support at the United Nations at a time when global scrutiny of Israel has rarely been higher.

“Of course, Netanyahu benefits from a politically weak Biden, who is blamed by the Israeli right for restraining Israel,” said Mazal Mualem, an Israeli political commentator and a biographer of Mr. Netanyahu. “But Biden is still president and Netanyahu needs him,” she said.

Mr. Netanyahu has clashed with the Biden administration over the scale of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the delivery of aid to Palestinian civilians and Israel’s failure to set out a clear vision for the territory’s postwar governance. Under U.S. pressure, Israel has slowed its military campaign in Gaza since January and has so far avoided a land war along Israel’s border with Lebanon, where for months it has exchanged missile strikes with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militia that is allied to Hamas.