Biden walks tightrope with support for Israel as allies push for restraint

President Joe Biden told a crowd of Democratic donors this weekend about a decades-old photo he took with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an aside that seemed intended to illustrate his long support for Israel and his record of outspokenness speaking to the conservative Israeli leader.

As expectations grow that Israel will soon launch a ground offensive aimed at rooting out Hamas militants ruling the Gaza Strip, Biden is again faced with the difficult balancing act of expressing full support for America’s secret ally in the Middle East, while at the same time, pressure is pressing the Israelis to act with enough restraint to prevent the war from spreading into a wider conflagration.

Biden has literally and figuratively wrapped Netanyahu in a warm embrace since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

He has repeatedly pledged to have Israel’s support in eliminating the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and has carried out the brutal attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis and captured more than 200 others.

But he is also paying increasing public attention to the plight of the Palestinians and the possible consequences of a tough Israeli response.

White House officials say Biden asked Netanyahu tough questions about his strategy and the way forward during his visit to Tel Aviv last week. Biden himself told reporters on his way back from Israel that he had a long conversation with Israeli officials about what the alternatives are to a possible expanded ground operation. US defense officials also consulted with Israel on the issue.

We are going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel is stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading, Biden said Thursday in a nationally televised address on assisting Israel and Ukraine in their wars.

At the same time… Netanyahu and I yesterday again discussed the crucial need for Israel to operate under the laws of war. This means that civilians must be protected as best as possible in battle.

The pressure on Biden for a balanced approach comes from Arab leaders in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and beyond, who have seen major protests erupt in their capitals over the Gaza crisis.

It also comes from European officials, who have expressed horror at the most brutal attack on Israeli territory in decades, but have also underlined the need for Israelis to adhere to international and humanitarian law.

Biden also faces scrutiny from people in the younger and more liberal wing of his Democratic Party, who are more divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue than the party’s centrist and older leaders.

Less than a week after the war began, dozens of lawmakers wrote a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging them to ensure the protection of Israeli and Palestinian civilians by calling for Israeli military operations to rules of international humanitarian law, and the safe return of hostages and diplomatic efforts to ensure long-lasting peace.

That was followed by more than a dozen lawmakers introducing a resolution urging the Biden administration to call for immediate de-escalation and a ceasefire.

Three members of the Democratic caucus, Reps. Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, wrote to Blinken last week about the lack of meaningful information about the status of American citizens, especially those in Gaza and the West Bank. The government has said there may be between 500 and 600 American citizens in Gaza.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has suggested that the administration has applied a double standard when it comes to valuing the lives of innocent Israelis and Gaza residents. More than 4,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Many of the victims are women and children.

How can you look at one atrocity and say, ‘This is wrong,’ while watching bodies pile up as neighborhoods are razed to the ground?” Omar asked at a news conference.

Last week, at least one department official resigned, saying he could no longer support what he called a one-sided policy that favors Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.

I cannot work in support of a series of major policy decisions, including sending more weapons to one side of the conflict, that I believe are shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the values ​​we publicly espouse, Josh Paul, a 11-year veteran of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, wrote in a statement on his LinkedIn account on Wednesday.

Other State Department officials have expressed similar concerns, some of them speaking during a series of internal calls for employees that took place Friday, according to people familiar with the events who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Many of those responses were angry and emotional, these people said.

Blinken sent a department-wide memo Thursday urging employees to remember the administration’s broader goals for equal justice and peace for both Israel and the Palestinians.

Biden administration officials, meanwhile, have witnessed trauma and anger in their interactions with their Israeli counterparts that are palpable.

During the Blinken-Netanyahu talks, US officials familiar with the discussions said they had become increasingly alarmed by comments from their Israeli counterparts about their intention to deny even supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine to Gaza , as well as the inevitability of civilian casualties.

According to four U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, these comments reflected intense fear, anger and outright hostility toward all Palestinians in Gaza.

The officials said members of Israel’s security and political establishment were absolutely opposed to providing any assistance to the Gazans and argued that eradicating Hamas would require methods used in the defeat of the Axis powers in the Second World War. World War.

One official said he and others had heard from Israeli colleagues that many innocent Germans had died in World War II and had been reminded of the mass deaths of Japanese civilians in the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Likewise, Biden and his top aides heard deep anguish from some of the senior Israeli officials involved in the private conversations, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

As he wrapped up his seven-and-a-half-hour visit to Tel Aviv, Biden compared the Oct. 7 attack to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people and recalled the anger Americans felt and the desire for justice for many in the United States.

He also urged Israelis to remember American missteps after September 11, an era when the US military became embroiled in a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

I caution this: While you feel that anger, don’t let it consume you, he said. After September 11, we were outraged in the United States. And while we sought and received justice, we also made mistakes.