Netanyahu pushed Biden towards the red line… What happened since October 7?
A report by the American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal” revealed that US President Joe Biden’s priority was to stop the controversy surrounding whether his administration had exerted sufficient pressure on Israel, to ensure a ceasefire and reduce the heavy casualties among civilians, after 7 months in which more than one person was killed. Of 34 thousand Palestinians.
Biden had said on Wednesday that he was prepared to withhold additional weapons, including artillery shells, from Israel if Israeli forces launched a major ground operation in Rafah.
He added in an interview with CNN: “If they go to Rafah, I will not provide them with the weapons that were historically used to deal with cities,” stressing that the United States will continue to provide defensive systems capable of repelling missile attacks.
The US President added: “I made it clear to Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) and the war government that they will not get our support if they attack these population centers. We are not far from Israel’s security. “We are moving away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.”
The US administration began a review of the arms shipments it provides to Israel after months of calls to restrict the process of sending weapons to Israel, with the aim of forcing the Netanyahu government to rethink its behavior in the war.
US officials said the review was top secret due to political sensitivity to using its strongest influence on Israel, something that is sure to anger Netanyahu and prompt Republicans to launch attacks on Biden.
By the end of last week, Biden administration officials were still hopeful that a cessation of fighting could be achieved, and redoubled their efforts to secure a temporary cessation of 6 weeks that could be extended later, by returning CIA Director William Burns to the region.
But Israel settled on a strategy of dialogue and combat, and even as it sent a delegation to ceasefire negotiations, it dropped leaflets on Monday urging 100,000 residents of eastern Rafah to flee.
This was followed the next day by sending forces to seize the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Biden responded by stopping only one shipment of weapons that was scheduled to be flown to Israel in the coming weeks, and a US official said that this step was taken because bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (about 900 kilograms), in particular, could be devastating, especially “in “Dense urban areas” such as Rafah, he noted, adding that other potential sales are also being reviewed.
The decision was initially intended to serve as a “secret” signal to Israel that it should focus on trying to consolidate a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, rather than moving towards an attack on Rafah without a plan to protect civilians and ensure that aid would not be cut off from them.
One American official told the Wall Street Journal: “We did not try to reveal this matter to the public, but rather we were trying to deal with the matter in a diplomatic manner.”
Former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, commented on the matter by saying, “Israel has been and is still being punished,” and described Biden’s decision as a pre-emptive strike against any Israeli move to expand its operations in Rafah.
During a hearing Wednesday at the Capitol, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin faced criticism from Republicans for holding back weapons while Israel wages war.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday, criticizing the delay in providing weapons to Israel, saying that it “casts doubt on your pledge,” and that “your commitment to Israel’s security will remain firm.”
A humble step
Critics of Biden’s support for Israel say the move was too modest to have a lasting impact unless more weapons are also withheld.
Middle East expert Josh Paul said: “Instead of stopping the shipment once as a means of exerting long-awaited, momentary influence, this should be the beginning of a radical change in US policy towards providing security assistance to Israel.”
Biden had warned last March that the Israeli attack on Rafah would cross a “red line,” but he quickly added: “There is no red line that says I will cut off all weapons.” Then he said: “We cannot kill another 30,000 Palestinians.”
At a White House press conference shortly after the president’s remarks, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan refused to answer whether the United States would impose conditions on military aid if Israel did not present an acceptable plan for Rafah.
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