Analysis

Gaza: six months later, a breach in Joe Biden's policy of unconditional support for Israel

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Washington has remained Israel's great ally, despite challenges in the United States which are pushing the White House to adapt its posture – at least in public – towards the government of Benyamin Netanyahu. Promised the day after Hamas' surprise attack, this policy of unconditional support has undergone changes in six months. 

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, October 18, 2023, ten days after the Hamas attacks. © Miriam Alster / AP

By: RFI Follow

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With our correspondent in New York,

Carrie Nooten

At the beginning of October,

Joe Biden

was not a fan of

Benyamin Netanyahu

, but he had just ironed out his relationship with him, two weeks earlier, against a backdrop of mutual recognition between 

Israel

and the United Arab Emirates. Suddenly, after the attacks of October 7 and the launch of the armed operation in Gaza, the United States provided aid on the ground, with arms deliveries, and at the UN, with strong vetoes

.

to resolutions calling on Israel to exercise restraint.

Also read: The paradox of Biden, who delivers weapons to Israel and criticizes the conduct of the war in Gaza

Then, for months, Washington tolerated Israel's repeated affronts, prioritizing negotiations on the ground for the release of the hostages. Yet each visit by Antony Blinken to the region has resulted in a brazen escalation by the Netanyahu government.

“

Red line

” and pressure

And when Joe Biden posed the ban on the bombing of Rafah as his “

red line

”, he was openly defied. Annoyed, but also pressured by an increasingly dissatisfied part of the Democratic base, he did not block a call for a ceasefire during Ramadan.

A new inflection point took place this week after the

“

error

” of Israeli forces who killed seven humanitarian workers

: the American president called Benyamin Netanyahu to tell him that, without more real humanitarian aid to Gazans, Washington would reassess its support to Israel. This is the most severe warning in six months, but analysts are reserved: it is not a major policy change according to them. 

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  • Gaza

  • Israel

  • Israelo-Palestinian conflict

  • Benyamin Netanyahu

  • UNITED STATES

  • Joe Biden