The escalation of the situation in the Gaza Strip, with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the area, appears to be opening cracks in President Joe Biden’s until now unwavering support for Israel in its war with Hamas. On Tuesday, the Democratic president indicated that his main partner in the Middle East “is beginning to lose the support” of the international community due to the scale of the massacres in the Gaza Strip.
Biden, who over the weekend approved the sale of tanks to Israel on the sidelines of Congress, went further by pointing out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must make changes to his government, the “most conservative in the history of Israel.” On the table, disagreement about how to govern the ‘post-Hamas’ era and Netanyahu’s rejection of a role for the Palestinian National Authority in that immediate future, an option that the United States supports. He also regretted that they do not contemplate “the two-state solution.”
“There is disagreement about ‘the day after Hamas,'” Netanyahu said in a video statement, “but I hope we reach an agreement here too,” assuring that after the “great sacrifice” of his civilians and soldiers, will not allow “the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism.”
Biden’s statements represent the most pronounced break with Israel since the war began and a striking turn after the US veto on Friday of the UN Security Council resolution to declare a ceasefire in the region. In that sense, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, made it clear that he was not going to give up his efforts to achieve the goal despite the historic setback. This Tuesday, the General Assembly was scheduled to vote in the same direction to achieve a temporary cessation of hostilities after two months of conflict, further isolating the United States and its main partner in the Middle East.
Despite Biden’s statements, neither of them seems interested at the moment in stopping the war. They maintain that it would only benefit Hamas, the terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and that carried out the massacres of October 7, causing more than 1,200 deaths after a massive and surprise incursion into the neighboring country. However, many more countries believe that the humanitarian crisis is such that there is no other way but to stop the bombings and the incursion of Israeli troops.
Images of the deaths of children and women happen every day. The death toll speaks of more than 18,000 in Palestinian territory since the conflict began and the displacement has already affected the majority of the 2.3 million people who live in Gaza. Hence Guterres’ urgency to achieve a ceasefire, with constant warnings about the serious humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave and the hundreds of thousands of people who are dying of hunger.
Tuesday’s vote request was very similar to the text presented to the UN Security Council, expressing concern about the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip” and “demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” for the protection of civilians, humanitarian access and the “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages. It excluded, however, an express condemnation of the massacres perpetrated by Hamas that started the hostilities, a point of friction for both the US and Israel.
Unlike the rules that govern the Security Council, made up of 15 members, five of them permanent, none of the 193 member countries have the right to veto in the Assembly, although two-thirds of the votes are necessary to approve resolutions.
The non-binding vote was intended to send a strong message after last week’s Security Council fiasco. The condemnations of the US veto decision were large and immediate. After meeting with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, considered it as “endorsement for more murders of Palestinians, more violations of international law and more war crimes.” For Safadi “Israel is basically doing what it wants, defying even its allies, creating a horrible situation in Gaza.”
