President Joe Biden took 65 days and 18,000 dead in Gaza and the destruction of large parts of the Gaza Strip to issue a public rebuke of Israel’s method of conducting its war on Hamas.
Biden’s Delay in Empathizing with Gaza Victims
President Biden has long had a reputation for being particularly empathetic, a trait that is uncommon in the world of politics, but critics say the lengthy delay highlights that he felt more deeply for Israelis than for Palestinian victims in the Gaza war.
Biden’s Visit to Israel
The president traveled to Israel after 11 days of an invasion by Hamas fighters, the group that governs Gaza, into what was supposed to be an impregnable border with Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and abducting 240 to hold them in Gaza.
Biden’s Criticism of Israel
The first direct and public criticism from Biden regarding Israel’s method of conducting the war came during a meeting with donors for his campaign for re-election in 2024. While the United States stood behind Israel, he stated in the meeting that the country was losing international support due to “the indiscriminate bombardment that is happening.”
Impact of the War on International Support for Israel
By that time, Israel had followed its initial campaign of airstrikes with a ground invasion, and the loss of support for the way the war was conducted was evident through massive Palestinian protests in cities around the world. Five countries withdrew their ambassadors in protest, and three severed diplomatic ties entirely, including South Africa, whose senior foreign minister Naledi Pandor compared the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to the previous apartheid regime in her country.
Impact of the American-Israeli Relationship
For decades, the American-Israeli relationship has been unique, resembling that of lenient parents with a headstrong child rather than ordinary relationships between countries. There is nothing quite like it. The global superpower has serious leverage over a country with a population slightly larger than New York City, and generally, what Israel wants, it gets.
The American Position on Criticism of Israel
Another feature that makes the American-Israeli relationship unique is Washington’s long-standing policy of shielding Israel from criticism in the United Nations. Time and again, the United States and Israel have stood alone in majority-supported decisions among the 193 UN member states.
The American Position on a Political Solution
The extent to which Washington is willing to concede to Israeli desires was highlighted when the UN Security Council, whose resolutions are binding, voted on a resolution to expedite humanitarian aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians face famine and disease. After days of bickering, the 15-member council voted 13-0 in favor of the resolution. The United States abstained from voting after threatening to veto if the resolution contained a key phrase in the original draft calling for a “immediate suspension of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.”
Israel and its American ally reject a ceasefire, considering it would allow Hamas to regroup and prepare for new attacks.
The watered-down version calls for “urgent steps to immediately allow safe and expanded humanitarian access as well as to create conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” No details were provided on these steps.
Just hours before the vote, Israel announced the expansion of its ground attack.
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