A demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters before the vote on a ceasefire in Gaza (Anatolia)
WASHINGTON -
In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden called on Israel to “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, human suffering, and the safety of aid workers.”
Biden said that he would link US policy on Gaza moving forward with his assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps. Biden also called on Netanyahu “to work to reach a ceasefire to return the hostages to their homes,” but it is not yet clear whether President Biden means a permanent or temporary halt. for a ceasefire.
These steps represent a radical change in the position of the Joe Biden administration, which has supported Israel without any conditions since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip during the past six months, politically, diplomatically, militarily, and financially.
Has Biden's position changed?
It is worth noting that Biden, from the first moment, and less than two weeks after the events of October 7, 2023, became the first American leader to visit Israel during wartime, as he landed at Ben Gurion Airport to hold meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reassured the Israeli people. His administration will stand by him until the Hamas movement is eliminated.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu witnessed ups and downs during the following months, especially with the rise in the number of innocent casualties among the people of the Gaza Strip, and the dispute reached the point where the United States abstained from using its veto to stop the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The Biden administration appears to be intensifying its pressure on Israel to refrain from carrying out a major military operation in Rafah, and to give priority to the safety of Palestinian civilians. The White House said that President Biden informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they spoke Thursday that “there is a need for an immediate ceasefire, from In order to protect innocent civilians in Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation.”
This is Biden's strongest step to end the fighting in Gaza since the start of the aggression 6 months ago, and it is also the clearest message that his position may change from unconditional support for Israel, depending on the next steps on its part, and it also came 3 days after an Israeli raid that killed 7 of them. Aid workers in the "global central kitchen", with Biden under increasing pressure from members of his own party to push for a ceasefire and ensure Israel does more to allow aid into Gaza.
White House spokesman John Kirby said, "The steps that the United States expects Israel to take include increasing the amount of aid reaching Gaza, opening additional crossings, and better protection for civilians and aid workers," and he indicated Washington's expectation that Israeli changes will occur within hours or days.
With the beginning of the electoral conflict, the White House fears that Republicans will exploit the point that there are still 6 American citizens among those detained by the Hamas movement. On the other hand, the White House is aware of the extent of the anger of America’s Muslims and Arabs at its position in support of Israel and its indifference to innocent civilian victims.
The Michigan and Wisconsin primary elections sent harsh messages to the Biden administration, with more than 150,000 Democratic voters not voting for him, and their voting in favor of not committing to supporting him (Uncommitted), as the two states are among the closest swing states in the 2024 elections, and Biden cannot immediately go to the elections without winning. In the two states.
Activists in Michigan encouraged voters to cast non-compliant ballots instead of voting for Biden during the primaries (French)
The limits of American pressure
“Israel views this war as an existential crisis, not just another action or a limited war,” says David DeRoches, a professor of security studies at the Pentagon’s National Defense University and a former NATO official. “However, the deteriorating humanitarian situation In Gaza, it is the main driver of American dissatisfaction with the Israeli approach.”
He explains, "In the short term, Washington's ability to control Israel's actions is exaggerated. Israel has a strong defense industry, has extensive weapons stocks, and shares with Washington a common point of view about the threat posed by Hezbollah and other Iranian proxy militias."
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Des Roches indicated, “If the Biden administration concludes that Israel is deliberately adopting a strategy aimed at causing harm to civilians, the United States may take measures to restrict military aid. However, such measures will take months, if not years.” To have an impact on Israeli operations.”
Des Roches said that, through his conversations with senior Israeli politicians and former military officials in the past few months, he found that they “agreed that the level of threat that Israel feels, due to the shock caused by the attacks of last October 7, is neither appreciated nor understood.” Outside of Israel, when one looks at Netanyahu’s situation, it is difficult to imagine that he will remain a major figure in Israeli politics if he does not decisively defeat Hamas, which I believe he sincerely views as a threat to Israel.”
He added, "Therefore, I believe that Netanyahu will do what he feels he needs to do to destroy Hamas, as soon as political considerations allow, and I expect Netanyahu to act decisively to protect what he sees as Israel's security interests, and to deal with repairing the relationship with the United States and Israel's international reputation after the crisis is resolved." the wish".
Israeli criticism
Israel's supporters, whether in right-wing research centers in Washington, or among Republican Party hawks, accuse that Biden's new position encourages Hamas, and is unlikely to stop the Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah. They repeat that Israel does not intend to harm anyone in Rafah, and that the Netanyahu government They are making every effort to provide humanitarian aid, at the same time they repeat that Hamas is using civilians as human shields, and as a tool to pressure the Biden administration.
The President and CEO of the American Jewish Institute for National Security, Michael Makovsky, expressed the Israeli position clearly, as he considered that the Biden administration’s electoral calculations were behind the increasing pressure on Israel.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton tweeted, attacking Biden on the X platform, saying, “It was Hamas that rejected the ceasefire, not Israel, and instead of attacking our ally, Joe Biden should demand that Hamas release the hostages.”
Source: Al Jazeera