Highlights: The United Nations Security Council is due to vote this Friday, March 22, on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Previous resolutions of the same type have all been rejected due to the American veto. But this time, the text is proposed by the United States, and it's a particularly notable change. The US decision was announced as the secretary of state embarked on an Arab tour during which he met the heads of state of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This timing aims above all to show that Washington was taking the Arab world into consideration, and more importantly, to recover the vote of Arab-Muslims in the swing state of Michigan.

The United Nations Security Council is due to vote this Friday, March 22, on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Previous resolutions of the same type have all been rejected,…

War in Gaza: the United States reorients its strategy against Benyamin Netanyahu

The United Nations Security Council is due to vote this Friday, March 22, on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Previous resolutions of the same type were all rejected due to the American

veto

. But this time, the text is proposed by the United States. And it's a particularly notable change.

US President Joe Biden, during a visit to Chandler, Arizona, United States, March 20, 2024. © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

By: RFI Follow

The

decision was announced as the secretary of state embarked on an Arab tour during which he met the heads of state of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In Cairo, Antony Blinken also met with the foreign ministers of Egypt and Qatar, the two mediators between

Israel

and Hamas, as well as the heads of diplomacy of Jordan, Arabia, the Emirates and a high head of the PLO.

This

timing

aims above all to show that Washington was taking the Arab world into consideration, and more importantly, to recover the vote of Arab-Muslims in the swing state of Michigan. This

swing state

, during the presidential elections, could go to Donald Trump, due to the discontent of the large Arab-Muslim community, because of the policy of the administration of President Joe Biden on Gaza.

China, for its part, indicated on Friday March 22 to support

the efforts of the UN Security Council

to put an end to the fighting in Gaza, without specifying whether it will support an American draft resolution on an immediate ceasefire. A permanent member of the Security Council like the United States, the Asian giant therefore has a right of

veto

. “

China supports the Security Council to take further responsible and meaningful steps as soon as possible to make unrelenting efforts to quickly end the fighting in Gaza

,” Lin told a regular news conference. Jian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

An evolution of public discourse

For weeks now, the Biden administration has been expressing its discomfort and even frustration with Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza. Public discourse has evolved. The mention of Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas is now systematically accompanied by its duty to protect the Palestinian civilian populations.

Leaks were organized in the press to let it be known that in private, Joe Biden calls Benyamin Netanyahu names. The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, also issued virulent criticism against the Israeli Prime Minister, described as an obstacle to peace.

A triple message to Israel

This American text presented to the Security Council is one more step. First of all, these are not just words, it is an unprecedented act with a triple message, particularly to Israel to say that American support before international bodies

is perhaps not eternal

It is also a message to the international community to show the United States' awareness of the situation in Gaza, while the country found itself isolated during the votes on previous resolutions.

Finally, it is a message addressed to a part of the Democratic electorate, notably young people and minorities, and not just Muslims, shocked by the consequences on the ground of American support for Israel.

It has still been a few weeks, if not a few months, that within the Biden administration, we have privately expressed to the Netanyahu government a form of dissatisfaction, a form of unease with the way in which operations military operations are taking place in Gaza. So, this unease, expressed in private, has been coming into public view for at least two or three weeks. In particular, last week, if I remember correctly, with the relatively harsh remarks of Senator Chuck Schumer. This announcement of a new resolution, we can perhaps say that it is part of the public expression of the dispute between Washington and Tel Aviv, but it is also a way for Washington to try to take control, to show Israel and the international community that we are trying to intervene in this conflict in a perhaps more determined manner.

00:51

“It’s a change in relations between Washington and Tel Aviv,” according to Julien Toureille, researcher in residence at the observatory on the United States at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

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War in Gaza: the United States reorients its strategy against Benyamin Netanyahu

War in Gaza: the United States reorients its strategy against Benyamin Netanyahu

An evolution of public discourse

A triple message to Israel

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