November 29, 2023
Shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 the Biden administration argued for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza:
US 'actively working' to establish safe corridor for Gaza civilians: White House - Yeni Safak - Oct 12, 2023
The US is in active talks with Israel and Egypt to establish "safe passage" corridors for civilians in Gaza to flee ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the White House said Wednesday amid an expected ground offensive in the besieged enclave."We're actively discussing this with our Israeli and our Egyptian counterparts, we support safe passions for civilians. Civilians are not to blame for what Hamas has done. They didn't do anything wrong," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
"We are actively working on this with Egyptian and our Israeli counterparts. Civilians are protected under the laws of armed conflict, and they should be given every opportunity to avoid the fighting," he added.
By October 29 Biden was forced to call off those plans.
President Biden @POTUS - 21:23 UTC · Oct 29, 2023I also spoke with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to share my appreciation for Egypt facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
We reaffirmed our commitment to work together and discussed the importance of protecting civilian lives, respect for international humanitarian law, and ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation.
The U.S. president then started to call for a 'pause' in the fighting. This was seen a rejection of a longer term ceasefire as was demanded by other authorities.
There are now signs that he had to give in to pressure to dump that line too:
Joe Biden @JoeBiden - 22:00 UTC · Nov 28, 2023Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.
To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek.
We can’t do that.
There are two reasons for this retreat. The first is that Hamas has, arguably, won the war:
Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 @ejmalrai - 5:45 UTC · Nov 29, 2023This is how I read it: @Netanyahu is in trouble and can't achieve his objectives. The army is incapable of controlling Gaza without thousands of body bags on both sides.
Biden is bringing the ladder. End of Gaza MILITARY war. Reconstruction war starts.
It is time for Netanyahoo to climb down just as Biden himself has already done.
The second reason for Biden's turn around is the outrage within the Democratic party about his one sided take on the issue:
Just weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Mr. Biden had invited a small group of prominent Muslim Americans to the White House to discuss Islamophobia in America. The participants were blunt with him, according to four people who were in attendance.They told him that his embrace of Israel after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks was seen by many as permission for Israel’s bombing in Gaza. They said the president’s statement casting doubt on the death toll among Palestinians was insulting. And they said the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy outside Chicago was just one devastating result of the dehumanization of their community.
...
Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, who was also at the meeting, said the war had increased risks for Americans, as well.“Muslim community leaders told President Biden that the suffering of innocent Gazans trying to survive in extremely difficult circumstances has actually increased the likelihood of Islamophobic attacks in the United States,” he said.
Biden was clearly advised that his stand could cost him the presidency:
As Mr. Biden looks toward the 2024 presidential election, his stance on the war could be significant in a contest that may hinge on swing states such as Georgia and Michigan, whose Muslim and Arab American voters turned out for him three years ago.
Democrats in Congress are, for the very first time, attaching conditions to aid for Israel:
“We want the president to secure express assurances from the Netanyahu government regarding a plan to reduce the unacceptable level of civilian casualties, and we want the Netanyahu coalition to commit to full cooperation with our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat leading the effort, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. “The bottom line is we need those express assurances. How we achieve that is something that we are discussing right now.”Mr. Van Hollen spearheaded a letter this month to President Biden that was signed by half of the Democratic caucus and raised concerns about whether the weapons provided by the United States would be used in keeping with international law.
Biden's problem now is that Natanyahoo is likely to ignore pressure from the U.S. because he fears for his own political survival:
Some analysts say Israeli domestic pressures will probably prompt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to revive the invasion sooner rather than later. Delaying it would put Mr. Netanyahu on a collision course with far-right government ministers who grudgingly supported the cease-fire because they were assured that the invasion would continue after only a short truce.
There are of course some measures the U.S. could take to kick Netanyahoo out. As soon as military supplies from the U.S. to Israel stop it will have to end all fighting. In consequence Natanyahoo would be finally kicked out.
But I do not see signs yet that Biden is willing to take that step.
Posted by b on November 29, 2023 at 11:43 UTC | Permalink