Biden suggests Israel may be trying to influence the election by refusing to agree to ceasefire

President did not rule out the possibility that Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to influence the contest, when challenged by reporters

Joe Biden has suggested that Israel could be attempting to interfere in the U.S. election by refusing to agree to ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza.
The President did not definitively rule out the possibility that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, was trying to influence the contest, when challenged by reporters on Friday afternoon.
“No administration has helped Israel more than I have – none, none, none,” Mr. Biden said.
“And I think Bibi [Mr. Netanyahu] should remember that, and whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.”
Israel ignored a U.S.-led initiative for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon before launching a ground invasion aimed at rooting out Hezbollah targets across the border.
The issue of Israel has become politically charged for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who is courting voters who both want to punish Israel for the Gaza war and stand by the Jewish state.
Jewish voters are also seen as critical in U.S. elections, with religious communities able to swing the election results if they vote in the same way.
Mr. Trump has recently argued that Jewish-American voters would be partly to blame if he loses the November 5 election.
The Republican candidate has attempted to frame his opponent’s support for a ceasefire in Gaza as an existential threat to Israel.
“If I don’t win this election – and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens because if 40 percent, I mean, 60 percent of the people are voting for the enemy – Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years,” he told the Israeli-American Council National Summit in Washington two weeks ago.
Ms. Harris has championed Israel’s right to defend itself against aggressors in the Middle East but has also called for an end to the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, in line with Mr. Biden’s policy.
In recent weeks, the vice president has been seen as attempting to dodge the issue on the campaign trail to avoid ambushes by pro-Palestine activists.
In August, she was heckled at a Democratic Party rally by activists shouting they wouldn’t vote for “genocide.”
She accused her potential Democratic Party voters of handing Trump the victory by refusing to back her over her support for Israel.
There had been hope Ms. Harris could have shifted her party’s policy to become more pro-Palestine, but she has maintained Mr. Biden’s “ironclad” support for Israel, while treading a fine line.