Netanyahu repeats debunked claim, suggests Biden slept during talks with Bennett

Reiterating a debunked claim, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sunday, indicated that US President Joe Biden had fallen asleep during a meet with his successor Naftali Bennett. Earlier this week, a video showing Biden with closed eyes and drooping head made its way to online platforms and subsequently went viral. However, later fact checks clarified that Biden had, indeed, bent forward to listen to Bennett and had even replied in the aftermath. 

On Sunday, Netanyahu appeared on Facebook LIVE where he talked about a variety of issues, including regional security. During the 26-minute-long clip, he was also asked to comment on the recently held Biden-Bennett meeting. Replying to the same, the jewish leader mockingly quipped that he heard that the American President was “very, very attentive” during the bilateral talks. Notably, Netanyahu is a close ally of Donald Trump in addition to being at loggerheads with Biden on several issues, including the Iran Nuclear Deal. 

“I heard that Biden was very attentive, very, very attentive during the meeting,” Netanyahu chuckled during a video broadcast live over Facebook, before dropping his head and closing his eyes, in an apparent imitation of Biden. “He lowered his head in agreement,” Netanyahu smirked.

Netanyahu, who has vowed to regain Israel’s leadership in future, is a close ally of former US President Trump. During his tenure, Trump not only promised him the Palestinian territory but also brokered the historic Abraham Accords, establishing Israel’s relationship with the UAE and Bahrain. Additionally, relocation of US embassy to Jerusalem was one of the string of diplomatic gifts delivered by Trump to Netanyahu. 

Likud Party Defends Netanyahu 

In the afteramth, Netanyahu's Likud Party clarified that the leader was ridiculing Bennett and not Biden. “Contrary to the distorted picture broadcast in the media, former prime minister Netanyahu did not criticise President Biden, whom he has known and cherished as a friend of Israel for 40 years,” a statement from the opposition party read. “His criticism was directed exclusively at Naftali Bennett, who during his visit to the White House spoke at length about nothing.”

Image: AP