The escalation of the dispute between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the conflict in Israel has raised many questions about the expected impact on the course of the war in the Gaza Strip.
This comes at a time when Biden said that the Israeli Prime Minister must “change his extremist government,” after Tel Aviv “loses the support of the international community, as a result of the indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza, which is suffering under the weight of a massive humanitarian crisis.
Two American analysts said in an interview with Sky News Arabia that there is no disagreement between the United States and Israel over the current course of the war and the declared goal of destroying the political and military capabilities of the Hamas movement and restoring the status quo, but there is a pivotal disagreement regarding the issue of governing Gaza after the war, which caused… The dispute has escalated to global public opinion, in addition to the US administration’s concern that extremist currents within the Israeli government are obstructing the path of the peace process and the future of the two-state solution.
What did Biden say to Netanyahu?
- Netanyahu’s government risks eroding international support for the military campaign against Hamas by refusing to endorse the principle of a “two-state solution,” Biden told donors at a fundraiser in Washington.
- Biden made clear that his administration would continue to support Israel, but at the same time raised concerns about the positions of other countries, adding: “Israel must be careful because the entire world public opinion could change overnight.”
- Biden repeated his call to Netanyahu not to repeat the mistakes made by the United States after the September 11 attacks, as he specifically mentioned the extremist Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gvir, the Israeli Minister of National Security, adding that “this government in Israel is making it very difficult.”
- “We have an opportunity to start unifying the region, and they still want to do that,” Biden said. “But we have to make sure that Bibi (Netanyahu) realizes that he has to take some steps. You can’t say no Palestinian state. That’s going to be the hard part.” .
- Reuters considered that Biden’s statements are the most important so far in Netanyahu’s dealings with Israel’s war in Gaza, as they come as a stark contrast to the Israeli Prime Minister’s political lack of support since the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.
- While Bloomberg said that Biden’s comments represent some of his strongest criticism of the Netanyahu government since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, as they indicate his concern about Netanyahu’s reticence to interact with his advice regarding the conduct of operations and the post-war phase.
- Biden’s speech comes shortly after a video clip published by Netanyahu, on his account on the “X” platform, in which he says that Washington and Tel Aviv “disagree regarding the subsequent phase of the war in Gaza,” and after Israel’s confirmation of the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip, and Netanyahu’s threat to the Palestinian Authority of war. , saying that “if the Palestinian Authority decides to attack Israel, the army will respond forcefully in the West Bank,” after a similar threat made by his spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, to Lebanon.
- Netanyahu said that the United States supports Israel in its goals of eliminating Hamas and returning those detained by the Palestinian movement, but noted that the two allies disagree on the subsequent phase of the war in Gaza.
- The Washington Post quoted US administration officials as saying that they were asking the Israelis specific questions about their legal obligations to protect civilians.
The focus of disagreement
For his part, Gabriel Soma, professor of international law and member of the advisory council of former President Donald Trump, said that the differences between the United States and Israel, which were undeclared until a short time ago, came to light when Biden warned that Israel might lose international support for its campaign against Hamas, at the same time. With Netanyahu publicly rejecting American plans for the Gaza Strip in the post-war period.
“Soma” explained, in an exclusive interview with “Sky News Arabia” website, that before the outbreak of the war, Biden was frank in his criticism of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, especially since the current government in Tel Aviv includes far-right parties, but despite that, he stood side by side with Netanyahu in Following Hamas attacks, despite growing criticism of the Israeli military campaign.
Regarding the repercussions of this dispute on the course of the war in Gaza, Souma suggested that military operations in the Gaza Strip would continue until Israel decides that Hamas has been eliminated, but at the present time there is pressure on Israel from the United States to open the “Kerem Shalom” crossing to allow the entry of more people. Of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the aid entering through Rafah is not sufficient and there is a need to enter more aid.
He added: “It seems that the Israeli government does not want this, but I think it will agree in the end.”
A member of Trump’s former advisory council confirmed that the focus of the American-Israeli dispute revolves around what should happen in Gaza the day after the end of the current war, adding: “Biden stressed that Washington will continue to provide military aid to Israel until it gets rid of Hamas, but the Israelis must be careful.” Because public opinion can change overnight.”
American concern
In this vein, the American expert specializing in security and strategic affairs, Irina Tsukerman, told the “Sky News Arabia” website that there is a disagreement over the issue of governance of Gaza, as the United States is concerned about obtaining regional support for any solution because of the presence of “a number of people in The Netanyahu government is unprofessional, and they made statements and took extreme positions, specifically Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister) and Ben Gvir.”
Tsukerman pointed out that these ministers are directly linked to the policies and decisions related to Gaza, “a matter that raises deep concern for the American administration, and there is a fear that the presence of these figures will be an obstacle to achieving any kind of consensus on the future solution to the conflict.”
However, the American expert specializing in security affairs indicated that the Biden administration still wants to eliminate Hamas completely, but it does not want these individuals to remain in their position to obstruct the peace process and does not encourage any kind of violence against civilians in the future or otherwise interfere in a solution. Conflict and peace building.
She added: “This comes in light of the catastrophic intelligence and political failures of the Netanyahu government, and therefore keeping anyone who symbolizes failure and unprofessionalism complicates the idea of unconditional American support for Israel and contributes to international pressure on both Israel and the United States at the same time.”
Tsukerman pointed out that Netanyahu, for obvious reasons, is concerned about the collapse of his coalition if these two ministers do not remain in the government, so if the coalition collapses, there will be early elections, and he will likely be forced out of the government.
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2023-12-13 04:58:04