Biden privately says Netanyahu 'giving him hell' - report

U.S. President Joe Biden is losing his patience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, repeatedly calling him an "obstacle."

According to the latest report from NBC News, five people directly familiar with his comments confirmed that the American leader had privately disparaged the Israeli premier, despite maintaining a public policy of unwavering solidarity with Jerusalem.

According to the report, Biden has been seeking to persuade the Israeli security  establishment to change its military tactics in Gaza, and Netanyahu is seen as "an obstacle" in this process. In Biden's words, he's been "giving him hell."

"He just feels like this is enough, it has to stop” one of the sources said of the views expressed by Biden.

This is not the first report of such comments made by the U.S. President regarding his Israeli counterpart. Earlier this month, a report by Politico claimed Biden called Netanyahu a "bad f**king guy." NBC News also says, according to three of their sources, that at least once Biden called Netanyahu an "a**hole."

Asked about Biden’s comments about Netanyahu, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said that "the president has been clear where he disagrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but this is a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and in private."

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