Netanyahu Claims Biden Could ‘Leak’ Israeli Intel to Thwart Operations Against Iran

Leader of Israeli opposition Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with his Likud party in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem June 14, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the Biden administration on Monday, claiming that it might attempt to sabotage Israeli operations against Iran.

His remarks came during a Knesset session following an Iranian attack on an Israeli-operated tanker last week, which was condemned by both the US and the UK along with Israel, Israeli news site Walla reported. Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier on Monday told the Knesset that Israel and the world should act against the Iranian threat.

“The information that will be sent to America will be leaked to media outlets,” Netanyahu charged, which would in turn thwart Israeli attempts to counter Iran.

“We are talking about an existential issue for Israel,” he asserted, “in which there may be surprises and sometimes must be surprises.”

Addressing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Netanyahu said, “You have turned us into a kind of protectorate with an obligation to report” to the country that controls it.

“If we do not have independence on this issue, we have no independence at all,” he said.

A government source who deals with Israel-US relations told Walla in response, “Netanyahu is presenting the image that he cares about the security of the state, but in practical terms he continues to harm Israel-US relations and all of it in the name of narrow political considerations.”

Referring to the objects worn on the breastplates of the ancient Israelite high priests, the source said that “it’s possible to expect more from a man who thinks of himself as the Urim and Thummim of Israel-US relations.”