Biden against ceasefire, condemns West Bank violence

In an op-ed published on Saturday, US President Joe Biden dismisses increasing ceasefire calls for Gaza, asserting that it won't bring about peace.

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"As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace. To Hamas's members, every ceasefire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again," Biden wrote in the piece for The Washington Post, adding, "Our goal should not be simply to stop the war for today it should be to end the war forever, break the cycle of unceasing violence, and build something stronger in Gaza and across the Middle East so that history does not keep repeating itself." Biden also called for Israel to respect humanitarian law and minimise the loss of civilian life, saying he counselled Israeli officials during his trip to Tel Aviv "against letting their hurt and rage mislead them into making