20.05.2021 – 18:57

Asked if he would insist on a ceasefire following the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas, US President Joe Biden said he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “within an hour, and I will be able to speak. after this”.

President Biden’s apparent respect for Netanyahu raises alarming though not new questions about the nature of the US-Israel relationship.
Israel is what international relations scholars would call the “tail wagging the dog.” Given the asymmetry of power between the two, it would be expected that the United States, as the superpower that provides Israel with $ 3.8 billion a year in military aid, would lay the groundwork for their relationship. However, in the case of Israel, the opposite is true.

Since the 1980s, the US foreign policy consensus has been that Israel knows best how to maintain its security, and that clear US support, not pressure, would push it to take risks. necessary for peace.

Therefore, U.S. presidents often push their Israeli counterparts on issues of war and peace in the Middle East, even though vital American interests are at stake there. However, far from giving US influence over Israel or advancing the prospect of peace, this approach to bilateral relations has ultimately been detrimental to both countries.

Netanyahu knows very well how to influence US policy, especially when violent conflict erupts. He has long exploited the fact that the United States inevitably reiterates “Israel’s right to self-defense” regardless of the responsibility of Israeli leaders in causing a crisis.

Once again, US officials, regardless of party affiliation, have sought to avoid acknowledging Netanyahu’s direct role in sabotaging reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis, depriving Israel of Palestinian citizenship rights and empowering more forces. extremists and xenophobes of his country.

Biden knows Netanyahu well, having dealt with him first as a senator and then as vice president for eight years in the Obama administration. In 2011, Netanyahu publicly humiliated America’s first black president, Biden’s former boss, by giving him lectures on American politics and Israeli security live on American television from the Oval Office. Worse, he later collaborated with Republican Republicans in an attempt to break the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

Ignoring Netanyahu’s long bad record, Biden’s stance on the current conflict provides a green light for Israel to continue its military campaign against Hamas. Three times since the current crisis began, the US has blocked UN Security Council statements calling for an immediate ceasefire, leading UN diplomats to conclude that the Biden administration wants to keep this body “of silent ”in this matter.

Moreover, on May 17, as violence in Gaza intensified, the Washington Post reported that Biden had approved the sale of $ 735 million worth of weapons to Israel, raising red flags for the House and Democrats who have been calling for it. administration to seek a ceasefire and take a more active role in addressing the root causes of the conflict. For obvious reasons, the escalation of the bloodshed will have major consequences not only for civilians in Gaza, but also for regional peace and security at large.

The next day, after venods under increasing pressure inside and outside the country and after speaking with Netanyahu, Biden issued a statement expressing support for a ceasefire. But Netanyahu has made it clear he is not ready to end airstrikes in Gaza, and the White House remains seemingly ready to persuade him otherwise as long as Hamas is still indiscriminately firing missiles. in Israel.

Clearly, Biden belongs to the generation of American officials caught up in Israel’s dreadful vision of a bright democracy in a sea of ​​Arab and Muslim autocracy. Biden and similar Democratic and Republican leaders are unaware of evidence of systematic abuses by Israeli authorities and crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and within Israel. Recent reports from Israel’s leading human rights group, B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch, make a compelling case that Israel is now a state, not a democracy.

Still, with leading Democratic Party voices challenging pro-Israel hegemony within their party, the US political landscape is gradually changing. It is doubtful that Biden would have used the word “ceasefire” if not for a joint statement issued by 29 Democratic senators calling for an immediate ceasefire. One of the vanguards of this growing movement is Senator Bernie Sanders, who commands a significant portion of support within the Democratic Party base.

Equally promising are American Jews who are increasingly skeptical of Netanyahu. A Peu Research Center according to a recent poll finds that only 34% opposed sanctions and punitive measures against Israel.

Despite new voices in the Democratic Party and the American Jewish community, it will probably take a generational shift in U.S. foreign policy circles to bring the pendulum back in the middle on issues related to Israel and Palestine.

Until then, the situation will be complicated by excluding a lasting, lasting and just peace in the Holy Land and undermining US interests in the Middle East.

Translated and adapted by Project Syndicate / FH, Konica.al

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