(NewsNation) — Israel has the right to defend itself, but still needs to operate within the laws of war, President Joe Biden said Wednesday during a news conference where he also called out “extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.”
These Israeli settlers, Biden said, are “pouring gasoline on fire.”
Violence against Palestinians by these settlers has intensified since the militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to Palestinian authorities. Some Palestinians have even been killed by settlers, authorities said.
Rights groups say the settlers have torched cars, and attacked several small Bedouin communities, the Associated Press reported.
Because of these attacks, hundreds of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the West Bank since the war started, according to The West Bank Protection Consortium. That’s in addition to over 1,100 displaced since 2022.
Biden, speaking to reporters Wednesday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was being honored with a state visit to Washington, said the anger, hurt and “sense of outrage” the Israeli people are feeling after the “brutally inflicted devastation by Hamas is completely understandable.”
While he vowed that the United States will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Hamas, Biden stressed that the militant group does not represent the vast majority of the Palestinian people.
“Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian civilians, and is despicable and, not surprisingly, cowardly as well,” Biden said. However, “that does not lessen the need for (Israel) to operate and align with the laws of war.”
This puts an added burden on Israel as it goes after Hamas, he added.
“Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians,” Biden said.
International law, including the Geneva Conventions, specifies what countries can and cannot do during war. Experts say both Hamas and Israel have been violating these laws as the war continues.
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry said it has been “collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides” since Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking around 200 hostages.
Israel declared war after the attacks, bombarding the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and cutting off water and power to the residents there. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 6,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. More than 1 million people were told by Israel to evacuate northern Gaza, even as areas deemed as safe were bombed. The United Nations said the evacuation itself would be “calamitous” at a time when people don’t have access to necessary supplies and resources.
Calling for a two-state solution, Biden said both Israelis and Palestinians have to live in peace, and that there’s no going back to the “status quo.”
“That means a concentrated effort for all the parties, Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders, to put us on a path toward peace,” Biden said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.