When President Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in the Gaza Strip, his strong language raised legitimate questions. Q: Even if it was a tragic mistake, would this attack impose conditions on the use of weapons? Will he send to Israel?
So far, the White House has remained silent on whether Biden's anger has brought his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a breaking point, and exchanges with him have remained tense. The two men are scheduled to meet on Thursday, a senior Biden administration official said. But at least in public, Mr. Biden has limited his response to the ever more exasperated declarations.
Biden claimed that launching a bombing campaign against the southern city of Rafah would cross a “red line that should not be crossed,” but he did not say what the consequences would be. He said on Tuesday that the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy was further evidence that Israel was “not doing enough to protect aid workers,” but said the attack on Israel's actions was He did not say how it should be changed.
“This is a sign of a change in direction from the president,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., one of Biden's most ardent supporters who has for months called for conditions on U.S.-supplied weapons. I hope it will be a moment.” “Prime Minister Netanyahu ignored the president's request, but we sent a 2,000-pound bomb with no restrictions on its use.”
“You shouldn't send a bomb first and expect some kind of guarantee later,” he concluded.
Conditions on the use of U.S. weapons are usually standard, some imposed by Congress and others by the President or Secretary of State. For example, Ukraine is not allowed to fire U.S.-made weapons at Russia, and although it has largely complied, whether it would provide Kiev with more powerful missiles if the aid package passes Congress. There is still ongoing debate within the administration.
But Israel has always been an exception. This was an apparent effort to oust Mr. Netanyahu, even as Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, gave an impassioned speech urging new elections in Israel. , refused to call for weapons restrictions. When pressed the next day, Schumer said he didn't even want to discuss the topic.
There are other measures Biden could demand. For example, the United States could insist that aid convoys be escorted by the Israel Defense Forces or that nearby Israeli military units remain in constant contact with donors, but the issue was debated in February by two U.S. senators. A lawmaker raised the issue with Netanyahu.
One of the participants said the Prime Minister told aides present at the meeting that he believed the issues surrounding the safe transport of food and medicine had already been resolved. But he promised Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, both Democrats, that he would raise the issue with military commanders.
Monday's strike suggests these issues are not completely resolved.
Pressed by reporters Wednesday about Biden's thoughts on the issue, White House national security press secretary John F. Kirby pointed reporters to the president's statements condemning strikes against aid workers.
“I think you could sense the frustration in what he said yesterday,” Kirby said.
On the day of the attack, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken held a previously scheduled meeting with Israeli officials via secure video.
Kirby said the US side has asked the Israeli side to come up with a comprehensive plan to evacuate the 1.5 million refugees in the Rafah region. He also said that dialogue would continue on “the current shape of Rafah and the operational intentions against the Hamas battalions that are still there.”
Although Mr. Kirby did not say so, officials familiar with these discussions said the United States remains concerned that the Israelis do not have a credible plan for a comprehensive evacuation and is not willing to support the process. said he believes it could take several months. But officials noted that Mr. Netanyahu has not yet launched an attack on Rafah, perhaps because the Israeli military is not ready or because of U.S. pressure.
In the six months since Hamas's Oct. 7 terrorist attack, the United States has hit a wall in its response to Netanyahu, a moment when declarations of common goals cannot hide the fact that the two countries are deeply at odds. There were others as well. About how to proceed with the war.
But the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy, one of the most successful efforts to avert starvation in the Gaza Strip, may have been a breaking point for Mr. Biden.
He personally knows José Andres, the famous Spanish-American chef behind the operation. His restaurant in Washington is a regular hangout for the city's power brokers. Biden called Shehu on Tuesday, just before Andres published a guest essay in the New York Times declaring that “Israel is better than the way this war is being waged.”
“It's better than blocking the delivery of food and medicine to civilians,” he continued. “It's better than killing aid workers who were working with the Israel Defense Forces.”
But Mr. Biden has consistently stopped short of publicly breaking with Mr. Netanyahu, and aides say he believes a confrontation would only make the prime minister more difficult to deal with. As a result, Biden has been boxed in, criticized by progressives and increasingly by moderates in his party for acting too cautiously and not wanting to be seen as limiting Israel's ability to defend itself. .
Indeed, the president's most visceral expression of outrage at Israel's military operations was not over the earlier deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians, but over the killing of seven foreign humanitarian aid workers. This caused discomfort among some of Mr. Biden's critics. they.
“For me, being the language of anger is notable because it's the furthest he's gone with that language, but also that he's only gone this far against Western aid workers. It is remarkable,” said Yousef Munayer, director of the Palestinian-Israeli program. Arab Center Washington, D.C. “Of course it's outrageous,” he added of the recent incident, “but we've seen these types of attacks over and over again, and the White House is furious about them.” It doesn't seem like it's happening.”
Munayer said the disparity is especially striking given Biden's reputation for personal compassion. “He presented himself as the chief executive of this empathy. That's a great quality of his,” Munayer said. “Yet when it comes to Palestinian life, he seems unable to empathize with Palestinians.”
Mr. Biden has sought in recent weeks to separate his pressure campaign on Israel from his authority to limit the country's arms supplies if he chooses to use them. Indeed, some veteran diplomats doubted this would be the moment for Biden to change his approach, despite his strong words.
“One would think that 'outrage' would lead to a strong policy response, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case,” said Daniel C. Kurtzer, a former ambassador to Israel. “While Israel has apologized, this attack will significantly increase pressure on aid providers and worsen the humanitarian predicament.”
katie rogers Contributed to the report.