The United States and Israel have a long-standing friendship. US President Joe Biden has supported Israel’s ongoing attack on Gaza since last October. Gave weapons and military equipment. However, since Israel’s plan to launch an attack on Gaza’s Rafah area, Biden seems to be a bit bent. He also suspended an arms shipment to Israel amid domestic and foreign pressure. BBC journalist Tom Bateman thinks that the long-term relationship between the two countries has come to the fore through Biden’s decision. Wrote details about why such an idea.
One of the most strategically important relationships in the world is the US alliance with Israel. US President Joe Biden somewhat wrapped up this relationship this week. The matter came to the fore in one of his conversations on television. He was asked what the United States would do if Israel went ahead with plans to launch a ground attack on Gaza’s Rafah area. Biden’s clear response was, ‘I will not give away any more weapons.’
The mainstay of US-Israel relations is Washington’s arms supply. And Biden has brought forward the issue of stopping the supply of weapons. In fact, Biden is under great pressure to prevent the extremely inhumane situation created by Israel’s attack on Gaza. For the first time in the last four decades, his recent speech revealed a rift in the relationship between the two countries. Such a situation has not been seen since US President Ronald Reagan was in power in the 1980s.
Regarding this, Aaron David Miller, a former analyst of the US Department of State and working to establish peace in the Middle East, said that since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, Biden has been divided politically. On one side is the Republican Party, which is a strong supporter of Israel, and on the other, his Democratic Party, which is divided over Israel’s attack on Gaza. But so far, it seems that Biden does not want to do anything that destroys the Israel-US relationship.
Biden gave that interview on television last Wednesday. Until then, the US has suspended an arms shipment to Israel. The shipment contained two types of bombs weighing 2,000 pounds and 500 pounds.
However, Biden’s approach has changed. He thinks Israel is moving towards a decision to launch a ground attack on Rafah. Israeli authorities said on Monday that their ground forces have begun operations targeting the eastern part of the Rafah. Israeli tanks are also gathering near settlements in the area. Local residents said they could hear the sound of shelling one after the other. Even hospitals that somehow survived there were crowded with injured people.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that there will be a full-scale ground attack on Rafah. Such an operation is needed to eliminate Hamas there. Whether or not negotiations on a cease-fire agreement are successful, the operation will take place. In the face of Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on Gaza for seven months, more than 1 million people of the valley have taken refuge in this Rafah. They are living there in an extremely inhuman way.
Washington has repeatedly urged Israel not to launch a full-scale ground attack on Rafah. It is also pushing for “specific operations against Hamas-affiliated targets” in the area. Analyst Aaron David Miller believes Biden is afraid that a ground operation in Rafah would jeopardize the end of the conflict in Gaza or the release of hostages still held by Hamas. And this attack will increase the division within the Democratic Party. With this in mind, Biden has given a hint to Israel by stopping the supply of weapons.
Biden gave that interview on television on Wednesday. Until then, the US has suspended one arms shipment to Israel. The shipment contained two types of bombs weighing 2,000 pounds and 500 pounds. A senior Biden administration official said Washington is concerned about where Israel will end up using the powerful weapons provided by the United States and what the impact of striking densely populated urban areas with those weapons will be.
The US State Department released a report on Friday at the behest of Biden. It said Israel may have violated international human rights law through US-supplied weapons in some areas of the Gaza conflict. The report also stated that the United States does not have “full information” about the assessment. This means they will continue to provide military aid to Israel.
The US gives Israel $3.8 billion in arms aid every year. Apart from this, the US Congress has recently passed a proposal to supply the country with another 1 thousand 7 billion dollars in arms and defense systems. Therefore, with the amount of weapons and ammunition that Israel currently has, they will be able to mix Rafa with the ground, according to Colonel Joe Buccino, a former officer of the US military.
The former official said the suspension of US arms shipments would not play a role in Israel’s decision to attack Rafah. In fact, many people in the United States are concerned about the situation in Gaza. Suspending arms shipments to deal with them is a political ploy.
Republican senators are trying to suspend this bill. As Senator Pete Ricketts commented, ‘I think the arms embargo has been a terrible thing to do. The president actually had no need to do it.
But the Republican senators are trying to suspend this one shipment. As Senator Pete Ricketts commented, ‘I think the arms embargo has been a terrible thing to do. There was no need for the president to do it. Another Republican senator, John Barrasso, said that Israel has the right to do anything to protect its sovereignty. Biden’s decision to suspend arms shipments has revealed his weakness.
On the other hand, many in Biden’s own party are happy with the decision to suspend arms shipments. Like Senator Chris Coons. He said, Biden has repeatedly tried to stop Netanyahu from attacking Rafa. Still, tensions rose. Because Netanyahu relies on the political support of radical nationalists. These nationalists do not want Gazans to receive humanitarian aid. Their objective is to evict Palestinians from the West Bank. The suspension of arms shipments could be the first obstacle to that effort.
Biden and Netanyahu’s relationship spans five decades. It was always a stretch to talk about it. When both were young, he wrote to Netanyahu in a picture, “I like you.” But I don’t agree with what you said.’ Netanyahu also often praises Biden for supporting Israel. Again, they went against each other on many important issues related to Palestine.
Biden ran to Israel after the attack by Hamas on October 7. He openly supported Israel. He also warned, “Don’t make the same mistakes we did after the 9/11 attacks.” What he actually meant was that “the people of Palestine are in the same dire straits.” Like the rest of the world, we sympathize with the deaths of innocent Palestinians.
Biden and Netanyahu’s relationship spans five decades. There was always tension to talk about this. When both were young, he wrote to Netanyahu in a picture, “I like you.” But I do not agree with your words.
Despite Biden’s warning, Israel continued to attack Gaza. Even after the suspension of arms shipments, Netanyahu expressed his anger on Thursday. He said, ‘If we have to fight alone, we will fight alone. I said, if necessary, we will continue to fight with the last ability.
Regarding Netanyahu’s statement, Democratic Party Senator Chris Coons said, “They don’t have to fight with their last ability.” They will fight with modern weapons. These weapons are in many cases developed jointly with us. Many times we provided the weapons. But they should use them in such a way that civilian casualties are kept to a minimum.’
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS