After the Islamic Hamas attack on Oct. 7, “most of the world” supported Israel, Biden said Tuesday. “But they are in the process of losing that support due to the indiscriminate bombings that are taking place.” In recent weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among others, have called on Israel to better protect the civilian population. .
Biden also denied Israel's religious-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any willingness to pursue a two-state solution. “This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, and “it doesn’t want a two-state solution.” Biden also called on Netanyahu to “change” his government.
Gaza: Possible flooding of the tunnel system
Fighting between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues. Israel is said to be considering flooding the branching tunnel system.
“I think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel, it is being very difficult for him to change,” said the US president. Netanyahu's government is the most right-wing and religious in Israel's history.
more on the subject
Israel wants to continue the war even without help
Netanyahu: Don't repeat the Oslo mistake
Before Biden spoke, he spoke with Netanyahu. Israel's prime minister later said there was a “difference of opinion” among allies about what should happen after the end of the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu said he hoped “we can reach an agreement here.” But he will not “repeat the Oslo mistake”. He alluded to the Oslo Accords signed in the US in 1993, which gave Palestinians an autonomous administration in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Dispute over the role of autonomous authority
The US wants the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank and is dominated by the Palestinian organization Fatah, to regain control of the Gaza Strip. Israel is against this. Hamas violently expelled the PA from the coastal strip in 2007.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh recently said that in his preferred scenario, Hamas would become the PA's junior partner in the Gaza Strip after the end of the war. The Israeli government rejects this. Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he wants to destroy Hamas.
There was opposition from Washington to the Israeli government's plans to establish a buffer zone with Israel after the fighting ended. The size of the Palestinian coastal area should not be reduced after the current conflict, the US State Department said.
debate
How does October 7th change the Middle East?
Diplomatic support
Despite the White House's tough tone, Washington diplomatically supports Israel. At the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, a large majority voted in favor of a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
153 of the 193 Member States voted in favor, ten against – including Israel, the USA and Austria. Last week, Washington vetoed a draft resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire at the UN Security Council.
More weapons deliveries
The situation is similar in the armaments sector. Israel is the largest recipient of US military funds. Most of this aid takes the form of weapons deliveries. From October 7 to early December, according to Israeli data, 10 thousand tons of military equipment were delivered to Israel, including armored vehicles, ammunition and medical and personal protective equipment.
According to Israeli information, the purchasing campaign is a joint initiative of the US and Israeli defense ministries and the Israeli army.
Human rights organizations have criticized Washington in this context. An Amnesty International report claims that US-made military equipment was used in two Israeli airstrikes that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians on October 10.
Hundreds of thousands on the run
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and carried out the worst attack on the country since the founding of the State, 75 years ago. According to Israeli information, around 1,200 people were killed and around 240 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Portal/Athit Perawongmetha More than 80 percent of Gaza's population is fleeing, according to the UN
Israel responded by bombing targets in the Gaza Strip and launching a ground offensive. Israeli attacks have killed more than 18,400 people, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. Information cannot be independently verified. However, the UN and NGOs stress that the authority's figures have proven to be globally credible in the past.
According to the UN, 80 percent of Gaza's approximately 2.3 million residents are fleeing. Since the start of the war, a fifth of the coastal strip's infrastructure has been destroyed, the UN satellite program UNOSAT said.
Israel wants to continue the war
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday that his country would continue the war against Hamas even without “international coverage.” “A ceasefire at this stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel.”