Observers believe that electoral political calculations prompted Biden to announce the establishment of a temporary port in Gaza (European)
Washington -
Amid dwindling hopes for reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and releasing detainees before the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, US President Joe Biden ordered his army to build a temporary floating dock and bridge on the coast of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea to open a new route to deliver... Humanitarian aid.
Biden's official decision came in his important State of the Union address last Thursday, prompted by the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, with hundreds of thousands of innocent people approaching the brink of starvation.
His decision raised questions and surprise, as Biden remains committed to providing all the weapons and ammunition Israel needs to enable it to continue its aggression, in addition to his refusal to call for a complete ceasefire.
dodge
During recent weeks, the Biden administration resorted to providing a small amount of food aid through air drops after Israel refused to bring it in through 6 land crossings linking the Gaza Strip to the outside world, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt, and the rest with Israel.
Commentators who Al Jazeera Net spoke to considered that what Biden is doing is nothing but a new attempt at evasion in his quest to find balance in an unbalanced war in the Middle East.
Biden also reiterates that he is "the first Zionist president of the United States" with his full and unconditional support for Israel. In addition, these are internal political electoral calculations that Biden fears will cost him the opportunity to remain in the White House for another 4 years.
There is ample evidence that Biden has become increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's defiance of his pleas to do more to protect civilians in Gaza, but he remains opposed to halting the supply of munitions to Israel or exploiting its complete dependence on the United States to influence the course of the fighting.
Aaron David Miller, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former American negotiator in the Middle East peace negotiations, said in a tweet on the X platform, “The Israeli government is unwilling and unable to facilitate the arrival of more humanitarian aid to Gaza as a result of internal political calculations, and they do not.” They care about the suffering of Palestinian civilians or about the future of Gaza.”
As for Democratic Representative from California, Ro Khanna, he said in an interview the day after Biden delivered his speech that “you cannot have a policy of providing aid and giving Israel weapons to bomb food trucks at the same time.”
He added, "There is an inherent contradiction in that, and I think the administration needs to reconcile the real compassion and moral concern shown last night for the lives of Palestinian civilians with real accountability for Netanyahu and the far-right government there."
to fail
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder had said that there would be no American forces on the ground in Gaza, but the American army would help build a dock and bridge to transport aid.
He explained that construction of the corridor will take about 60 days, but once in place, it is expected to be able to provide approximately two million meals per day.
Khaled Al-Jundi, director of the Palestine Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, tweeted, “Within 60 days, thousands more will die from hunger and disease. The most logical and effective response would be to demand that Israel, which relies entirely on American weapons and support, stop blocking the entry of aid and open the crossings.” The Six Lands to Gaza immediately.”
For her part, international affairs expert Asal Rad indicated that the introduction of any aid into Gaza is welcome, due to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in which children are starving to death.
However, the Biden administration has failed to acknowledge Israel's responsibility for the current crisis and the fact that it is using starvation as a weapon of war as Human Rights Watch and other experts have noted.
She told Al Jazeera Net that it is also strange that the United States resorts to such dangerous methods of providing aid, which is usually reserved as a last resort when dealing with hostile countries, and not with allied countries such as Israel, and it is another reflection of its ability to escape punishment and not take any action. The Biden administration has taken no steps to hold it accountable for its actions.
Commentators ruled out that Washington would propose a step to build a temporary water dock without prior coordination with Israel.
Loss of youth confidence
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Wolfgang Postztai, a former diplomat and international affairs expert, indicated that it would be very surprising if Biden had not informed Netanyahu before he made this statement in his State of the Union address.
He indicated his belief that the Israelis would not dare to spoil Biden's plans, but they would insist on some kind of security checks to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas.
In a statement to Al Jazeera Net, Ambassador David Mack, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, who previously worked at his country’s consulate in Jerusalem, pointed out the importance of Biden’s announcement, and considered that the sea pier is a more effective means of providing humanitarian aid compared to air drops, which do not help. Only a small percentage of the population of Gaza.
He stressed that the Israelis will give up relatively little control, as they fend off American and international criticism for their harsh stance towards the residents of Gaza, who are in dire need of aid.
For her part, Rad criticized the Biden administration's approval of Israel's security checks and inspections, which reflects her fears that the United States will provide questionable aid.
This will slow down the delivery of aid, “which Israel has been doing for months with all aid arriving in Gaza.”
Various opinion polls indicate that a two-thirds majority of Americans want the fighting to stop immediately in Gaza, and the percentage rises to more than 80% among Democrats.
Postztay considered that the current opinion polls on the US presidential elections are not very favorable for Biden, who particularly needs more support among American youth, many of whom are strongly critical of his policy towards Israel, and this move is one step to winning them back.
Rad said that despite the internal pressure on President Biden to act, these announcements and actions are merely a public relations operation given that the administration continues to provide money and weapons to Israel without stopping.
Source: Al Jazeera