Washington

- Although only 24 hours separated them, Washington chose to ignore the massacre committed by Israeli commandos inside the Jenin camp in the West Bank the day before yesterday, Thursday, while it rose up to the shooting attack carried out by a Palestinian resistance in Jerusalem.

10 Palestinians were killed in the Jenin massacre, while 7 Israelis were killed in the shooting in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem operation took place during CIA Director Bill Burns' visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank, and he is expected to meet today, Saturday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. , Severally.

It is also expected that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will arrive in Israel - next Monday - to hold meetings with Israeli leaders, and he is also expected to meet with Palestinian officials in the West Bank.


After the Jenin massacre

Several hours after the Israeli massacre took place inside Jenin, a statement was issued by the official spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price, in which he indicated Washington's awareness of the size of the "very important security challenges facing Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

The statement described the Israeli attack as an "anti-terror operation led by the Israel Defense Forces," and added, "We are deeply saddened by the loss and injury of civilians, and we are deeply concerned about the spiral of violence in the West Bank, and we stress the urgent need for the two parties to reduce tensions and avoid further violence." loss of civilian life, and work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank, as Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in safety and security.”

President Biden did not communicate with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, nor did any statements or statements come from Secretary of State Blinken or National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and none of the senior staff of the Biden administration tweeted about the Israeli attack, nor did they even express regret over the killing of innocent victims. .

Likewise, the US Ambassador to Israel, Thomas Niedes, chose not to mention the attack, while Barbara Lev, Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs - during a press briefing the day before yesterday, Thursday - was forced to answer journalists' questions in this regard, but she repeated the Israeli version of the attack, and said, "It was This is an operation by the Israeli military forces to intercept and deactivate a ticking terrorist threat."

The Biden administration refuses to acknowledge that the volatile situation in the occupied territories is nothing but a product of the stalled negotiation process and other structural factors exacerbated by the rise to power of the most extreme right-wing government in Israel's history earlier this month.

Washington described the shooting in Jerusalem as a horrific terrorist attack while ignoring the Jenin massacre (Reuters)

After the Jerusalem incident

Several minutes separated the occurrence of the Jerusalem incident from the beginning of the issuance of American denunciations, whether in the form of tweets from the accounts of senior Biden administration officials or official statements from the most important institutions of government.

President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a White House statement stated that they discussed "the horrific terrorist attack that took place tonight in Jerusalem, which claimed the lives of at least 7 innocent Israelis."

"This is an attack on the civilized world," Biden said. He also offered to provide all appropriate means of support to the Israeli government and people in the coming days, and stressed the United States' firm commitment to Israel's security.

The US Secretary of State also issued a statement of his own, condemning what he considered a "terrorist attack in Jerusalem," and Blinken said, "We mourn those who were killed in the attack, and our hearts are with the injured, including children. The idea of ​​targeting people when they leave the house of worship is an abhorrent idea, and it is tragic." In particular, this attack took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day."

While National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted, saying that he spoke with his Israeli counterpart and offered his condolences for the terrorist attack that took place tonight outside a Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem, which resulted in "senseless loss of life, including children and the elderly," and confirmed that the president Biden gives his full support to the government and people of Israel.

Another independent statement was also issued by the State Department, and another statement from the White House. The deputy spokesperson for the State Department expressed - in a tweet - his deep sorrow over the horrific attack on worshipers as they left a synagogue in Jerusalem, and said, "Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to the victims and their families." We condemn this terrorist act in the strongest terms, and reaffirm the United States' unwavering commitment to Israel's security."

The US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, tweeted, describing the attack as a "horrific act of violence" and noting that it took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Biden administration's position is consistent with the US President's long record of supporting the Israeli side, as this was evident in Biden's acceptance of all former President Donald Trump's anti-Palestinian decisions, such as recognizing Jerusalem as the unified and eternal capital of Israel, closing the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington, or reopening the Palestinian consulate. in East Jerusalem.