Relations between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear to have fallen to a new low, with both men under intense pressure from domestic politics and the looming election.
Biden spoke out to global allies and his supporters about the civilian death toll in the war with Hamas and Israel's restrictions on food and medicine entering Gaza amid severe shortages. facing the wrath of On Monday, Biden authorized the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, without allowing the U.S. ambassador to veto the measure, as the United States has done in the past. It was not because he abstained.
In response, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is trying to keep his far-right coalition in power, ordered a meeting with U.S. officials to discuss alternatives to Israel's planned attack on the southern city of Rafah. A scheduled high-level delegation to Washington was canceled. Gaza City is home to more than 1 million people.
However, Prime Minister Netanyahu allowed Defense Minister Yoav Galant to stay in Washington to meet with senior Biden administration officials.
These are “important talks,” said Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. He said Netanyahu's cancellation of other talks was “totally staged” and was a public jab at the American president who had requested the meeting.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced harsh criticism from his far-right coalition partners Itamar Bengvir and Bezalel Smotrich over signs of reluctance to go to war with Hamas and expand Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. are doing. His wartime government is also deeply divided over a bill that could lead to the conscription of more ultra-Orthodox Israelis, known as Haredim, and the vote was suddenly postponed on Tuesday morning.
Mr. Netanyahu's political survival, at least for now, depends on keeping Ben Gvir and Mr. Smotrich in the coalition. If they leave power, Israel's early elections would be forced and Netanyahu would likely lose to his centrist rival Benny Gantz.
New elections are exactly what New York Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democratic Party leader, called for in a recent speech, calling Mr. Netanyahu an obstacle to peace. Biden did not support the call for an election, calling it “a good speech.”
Nadav Strauchler, a political strategist who has previously worked with Netanyahu, said the prime minister is trying to embody a central narrative: ”
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far-right partners have stepped up their harsh rhetoric criticizing the Biden administration. National Security Minister Ben Gvir said in a recent interview that he has tacitly supported Israel's enemies, including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip and Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian Democrat from Michigan. Mr. Biden was accused of
“At this point, Mr. Biden prefers the line of Rashida Tlaib and Mr. Sinwar to the line of Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben Gvir,” Ben Gvir said in an interview.
“I expected the president of the United States to take our policy rather than theirs,” he added.
Ben Gvir said it was a “big mistake” for President Biden to try to put pressure on Israel, adding that Biden was “always trying to put limits on Israel and talk about the rights of the other side. Many terrorists trying to destroy us.”
Biden's actions on the Security Council resolution appear to be more political than substantive, with Biden officials insisting that U.S. policy has not changed.
The U.S. government remains committed to supporting Israel, and there is no indication that it may reduce the supply of U.S. weapons to Israel. The UN abstention does not constitute a veto for the US against Israeli military action against Hamas in Rafah, but it does signal the US and its allies' desire for Israel to first come up with a detailed plan to rescue the civilians swarming there. It is something to emphasize.
But Biden also recognizes that attitudes toward Israel within his own Democratic Party have worsened, and his support in battleground states where he is seeking re-election has waned.
Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, said the administration's recent actions are a serious and substantive indication of the president's dissatisfaction with the Israeli prime minister.
The United States has imposed sanctions on violent Israeli settlers, multiple administration officials have voiced harsh public criticism of Israel's plan to step up attacks on Rafah, and Mr. Gantz, against Mr. Netanyahu's wishes, He visited Washington, D.C., where he was granted talks with senior officials. The officials include Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sachs argued that in Washington, there are “deep disagreements between Biden and Netanyahu, and a clear policy shift.” “There is always politics involved, but these differences are not purely political.”
The United States continues to work with Israel and its Arab allies in an attempt to broker a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas. Washington hopes to turn the temporary truce into a long-term ceasefire that will allow for serious talks on how to govern and rebuild Gaza while protecting Israel's security. But it is a battle yet to be fought, especially as temporary ceasefire negotiations drag on.
Unlike previous conflicts between the US and Israel, this one is occurring during a war, and what will ultimately happen in Gaza – whether Hamas is ultimately defeated or emerges with an operational force. is a serious issue for Israel's security, said former American Aaron David Miller. He is currently a diplomat affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“How will Biden change the situation in Gaza, as the Israeli Prime Minister and many Israelis, including Gantz, remain committed to the war goal of defeating Hamas in Gaza and restoring security to Israel?” Mr. Miller asked. “We need the prime minister's acquiescence and support.”
The risk for Biden, Miller said, is that a conflict with Netanyahu could make it more difficult to get Israeli cooperation on the president's goals of “reducing wars and significantly increasing humanitarian assistance.” He said it was true. A Bloodier Operation in Rafah,” much less a viable post-war plan for governing Gaza.
In a deeper sense, the current disagreement stems from a two-decade relationship over Israel's settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution. is built on the deterioration of.
“There is a growing sense that the relationship between Israel and the United States is disintegrating,” Miller said. “Do they really share our values and interests when their policy is annexation in name only and ignores the advice of one of the most pro-Israel presidents in history?”
Mr. Netanyahu has used his discussions with American presidents, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, to strengthen his domestic political position, and has been involved in a number of issues related to relations with the Palestinians and the Palestinians. Israel has a history of trying to present itself as Israel's best defender against external pressure to make concessions in its relations with the United States. A now-defunct agreement to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Mr. Netanyahu is now trying to portray himself as standing up to Washington and the world in the name of Israel's security.
Daniel C. Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who is now at Princeton University, said, “He has accused the United States of preventing Israel from achieving its goals by preventing it from finishing its work with Hamas in Rafah.'' “We are creating a situation where we can criticize.” . “And if he joins, he could argue that he is the only Israeli leader who can withstand American pressure.”
Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pincus said Netanyahu would try to blame Biden for failing to defeat Hamas.
“He needs someone to hold him accountable because there will never be a complete elimination or eradication of Hamas,” he said. “And there's only one person he can hold accountable for that: Biden.”
At the same time, Kurzer said that Biden is far more popular than Obama in Israel, and that a serious break with Washington would seriously undermine Israel's security, military strength and future. Mr. Netanyahu therefore needs to be careful not to go too far.
