The Regime keeps pressing Israel to reengage with Palestinians as partners once fighting in Gaza is over and support their eventual independence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying no.
This from newsmax.com.
Even on actions to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the two allies are far apart.
That cycle, frustrating to much of the world, seems unlikely to end, despite U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s fourth urgent diplomatic trip this week to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war started. Though the United States, as Israel’s closest ally and largest weapons supplier, has stronger means to apply pressure on Israel, it shows no willingness to use them.
Support of Israel is a bedrock belief of many American voters. The Regime’s reelection bid this year puts Israel up against Republicans vying to outdo one another in support for Israel. For his part, Netanyahu is fighting to stay in office in the face of corruption charges.
Brian Finucane, a former policy adviser in the State Department on counterterrorism and the use of military force, said:
It’s a self-defeating policy.
Finucane, who is now a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group research organization, added:
What may be expedient in terms of short-term domestic politics may not be in the long-term interests of the United States.
Particularly if it results in the United States involving itself in further unnecessary wars in the Middle East.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the U.S. has rushed arms and other aid to Israel, deployed forces to the region to confront escalated attacks by Hamas’ Iran-backed allies, and quashed moves in the United Nations to condemn Israel’s bombing of Palestinian civilians.
On Thursday U.S. time, the same day Blinken was wrapping up his diplomatic mission, U.S. warships and aircraft hit targets in Yemen, hoping to quell attacks that the country’s Iran-allied Houthis have launched on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since Israel started its devastating offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Blinken’s latest diplomatic efforts secured limited, conditional support from Arab leaders and Turkey for planning for reconstruction and governance in Gaza after the war ends. But prospects are uncertain because Israel’s far-right government is not on board with several key points.
The U.S. urging for Israel to reduce the number of civilian casualties seemed to have some effect in recent days, as Israel began to withdraw some troops from northern Gaza and moved to a less-intensive campaign of airstrikes.
But the biggest U.S. disagreement with Israel has been with Netanyahu’s refusal to consider the creation of a Palestinian state. Arab states say a commitment on that point is essential to convincing them to participate in and contribute to postwar planning for Gaza.
Israelis and Americans are far apart on the matter.
The Palestinians have been divided politically and geographically since Hamas, a militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, overran Gaza in 2007, leaving internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with self-rule over isolated enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The U.S. wants Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to undergo administrative reforms before setting up a unified government in Gaza and the West Bank, as a precursor to statehood.
Blinken and his aides believe that Netanyahu—or his successor should Israel hold early elections—will eventually realize that Palestinian statehood is the key to Israel’s long-term security and accept it because it will have the effect of isolating Iran and its proxies, which are the biggest threat to Israel and the region.
Ultimately, Israeli leaders know they’ll need to make some concessions to the United States. Some they have already made, like letting limited amounts of fuel into the Gaza Strip, something Netanyahu adamantly refused to do in the early days of the war.
The Regime has resisted calls from some in the communist/globalist crime syndicate to use U.S. leverage with Israel, chiefly U.S. military support, to try to force the issue.
The Regime spoke out publicly against a move by some communist/globalist senators to tie U.S. military aid to Israel to ensuring that Israel take more concrete steps to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza. Expected next week, Sen. Bernie Sanders plans a floor vote on compelling the State Department to tell Congress whether Israel is complying with international humanitarian law.
Michael Koplow, chief policy officer for the Washington-based Israel Policy Forum said:
Israel knows the U.S. is likely to be key in rallying any Arab financial and political support for postwar Gaza, and to Israel’s deep desire to normalize relations with Arab nations.
But few expect big changes under Netanyahu. And some are skeptics of The Regime.
