Anxiety, unrest and frustration are spreading in President Joe Biden’s administration. Several US officials believe that US support for Israel is too one-sided. It has forced the US government to moderate public support for Israel. On Tuesday evening, Biden says that support for Israel is declining, and strongly encourages Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “make changes”. – This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history, says Biden according to CNN and adds that “Israel does not want a two-state solution”. – Rarely have we seen such critical language from the administration towards the current government in Israel, says Hilde Henriksen Waage. She is professor of history at the University of Oslo and senior researcher at the Oslo Institute for Peace Research (Prio). Ignoring US recommendations The wording from the Americans has changed drastically since October 7, the day Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in Israel. From warmly embracing Israel and its right to defend itself, the US now talks about ceasefires, humanitarian corridors and the protection of civilians. – And not least a two-state solution, which Israel does not want at all, says Waage. Hilde Henriksen Waage, professor of history at the University of Oslo and senior researcher at the Oslo Institute for Peace Research (Prio). Photo: Martin Tegnander / PRIO According to The New York Times, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has recommended Israel: use fewer bombs, obtain better intelligence before carrying out attacks, and use the army to secure safe routes to evacuate civilians. But there is little indication that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has listened to Blinken, the researcher believes. – Netanyahu is one of the biggest political ring foxes we have. He knows that as long as America’s demands are only in the form of words, he does not need to listen to them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received US President Joe Biden at the airport in Tel Aviv. Photo: AP Because even if the recommendations are ignored, the Americans will not publicly criticize Israel. The US instead used its veto power to block the proposal for an immediate ceasefire in the UN Security Council. – Strong words are not enough. As long as the US continues to supply Israel with weapons and funding, Netanyahu will continue along the same lines, Waage believes. Internal complaints Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has cost 18,000 Palestinian lives. The death toll has been published by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and according to actors in the Israeli military, previous figures have been realistic. The high death toll is causing unease in the Biden administration, according to Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, president of the think tank Middle East Policy Council. To the BBC, she says that the US’s support for the Israeli military operation appears to many as an “too one-sided position for the US government”. Photo: STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP The frustration became very visible when Josh Paul demonstratively resigned from his job at the US State Department at the end of October. In his resignation letter, he accused the US of ignoring Israel’s war crimes. According to the BBC, which refers to leaks and sources from inside the administration, several internal complaints are directed to Foreign Minister Antony Blinken. Photo: POOL / Reuters In addition, open letters have been sent to both the White House and Congress, by political representatives and public agencies, writes the New York Times. They essentially urge Biden to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and pressure Israel to open up more humanitarian aid. – Never before have people within the democratic parties advocated so loudly for a change in American politics, notes Hilde Henriksen Waage Can be left alone Nearly 2 million people, half of them children, are internally displaced in Gaza. In Al-Mawasi, a small desert area without water or food, the Palestinians must seek refuge. UN Secretary-General António Guterres interprets the situation as a danger to international peace and security. That is why he recently used his most powerful tool as UN chief: Article 99 of the UN Charter. Photo: Fatima Shbair / AP According to Waage, it is only when the White House recognizes that the war is harmful to American politics, that the United States will get on the field and show muscle. – The death tolls in Gaza are, shockingly enough, still not “horrific” enough for the US yet, even though they are for the rest of the world, says Waage. In the long term, it could lead to the US and Israel being left alone, suspects the historian. How such a scenario will affect the two allies is more uncertain.
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Major division over Israel in the Biden administration – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
