Ronen Zvulun/Portal
An Israeli soldier operates amid the ongoing ground invasion against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, November 8, 2023. American diplomats in the Middle East are warning the Biden administration of growing anger against the U.S. over its support of the Israeli military campaign.
CNN –
According to a diplomatic cable obtained by CNN, the Biden administration has received dire warnings from American diplomats in the Arab world that its strong support for Israel’s destructive and deadly military operation in Gaza is “losing us Arab public for a generation.”
The cable underscores American officials’ deep concern over growing anger against the United States that erupted shortly after Israeli operations against Hamas began following the militant group’s Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that killed over 1,400 Israelis .
“We are losing badly in the messaging battle,” said a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Oman on Wednesday, citing conversations with “a wide range of trusted and sober contacts.”
Strong U.S. support for Israel’s actions, the cable warns, “will be viewed as material and moral culpability for possible war crimes.”
The embassy cable was written by the second-highest U.S. official in Muscat and sent to the White House National Security Council, the CIA and the FBI, among others. Although it is just a cable from a regional embassy, it provides a private snapshot of concerns about the growing anti-US wave in the Middle East.
Another cable obtained by CNN from the American Embassy in Cairo conveyed an Egyptian state newspaper’s comment to Washington that “President Biden’s cruelty and disregard for the Palestinians exceeded all previous US presidents.”
CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Amid images of destruction in Gaza and the terrible humanitarian crisis in the region, President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure at home and abroad over U.S. support for Israel. While the government resisted calls for a ceasefire, officials worked to increase aid to Gaza and pushed for humanitarian pauses to allow more aid to flow into the enclave and allow civilians to flee the fighting.
In In recent days, U.S. allies in the Arab world have made clear their deep anger over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Last weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended a summit convened by the Jordanian foreign minister that included top diplomats from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
At the summit, Arab leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while Blinken reiterated U.S. opposition and argued it would give Hamas time to regroup and launch another attack on Israel.
The White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to continue daily four-hour pauses in military operations in areas of the northern Gaza Strip.
Blinken had reached an agreement in principle on the pauses after his meetings in Israel last week, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the idea of a humanitarian pause on Friday, US officials told CNN. This was seen as the Israeli prime minister’s prelude to his coalition, and officials noted that it was similar to when the Israeli government refused to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza before deciding to allow it.
Although Israel had already implemented such breaks, American officials see this agreement as progress because the Israelis use the language of “breaks,” which the U.S. believes can be built upon.
Still, concerns have grown within the administration about U.S. support for Israel.
CNN previously reported that some senior officials say privately that there are aspects of Israel’s military operations that they simply cannot bear to defend; There are growing calls among government officials for the US to support a ceasefire; and others are disturbed by the incessant images of Palestinian civilians being killed by Israeli airstrikes.
Biden also faces growing frustration at home.
The president was confronted at a private fundraiser last week by a protester calling for a ceasefire; Pro-Palestinian protests occur daily near the White House grounds; and this week one of the entrances near the West Wing was covered in bright red handprints — meant to imitate blood — and words like “Genocide, Joe.”