At President Biden’s insistence, Israel agreed on Wednesday to humanitarian transports to Gaza, where 2 million people are trapped in dire conditions. The commitment was the tangible result of Biden’s sensational and partly unsuccessful lightning visit to the Middle East.
The trip was canceled even before Biden’s plane had taken off in the US. The president was scheduled to visit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and hold a four-hour summit in Jordan with the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Palestine. After the deadly explosion on Tuesday evening in a hospital in Gaza, the meeting in Jordan was canceled.
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Initially, Palestinians assumed that Israel was behind the blast, further fueling emotions in the already tense region. It was especially restless in Beirut. Biden said upon arrival in Tel Aviv that the US believes the explosion was caused by a dropped rocket from a Palestinian group.
Two goals
Biden had two goals with his visit: to support Israel and to show the Arab world that the US does not blindly follow Tel Aviv and also has an eye for the Palestinian side of the matter. Now he suddenly had to deliver those two messages to Israel.
During a personal speech, he told the Israeli people: “You are not alone. The US will always stand with Israel and provide Israel with what it needs to defend itself, such as enough ammunition for the Iron Dome anti-aircraft shield.” He promised that he would ask Congress to pass an unprecedented aid package for Israel.
Biden cited a meeting he had as a young senator with former Prime Minister Golda Meir (1969-1974). She told him that the Jewish population was highly motivated to fight for Israel’s preservation because “we have nowhere else to go.” The US, Biden said, is not going anywhere either.
He reflected extensively on the suffering of relatives, both on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. “When we face disaster and loss, we must go back to the beginning and remember who we are,” he said. “We are all human beings, created in the image of God, with dignity, humanity and purpose.” He also shared experiences with bereavement: “It is as if there is a black hole in the center of your chest that you have been sucked into.” The president also met with relatives of the victims of the terror attack on Wednesday.
Biden also had a few warnings in his pocket. Israel, he said, is a Jewish state, but it is also a democracy. Democratic countries adhere to the law and respect the laws of war in crisis situations. He also underlined that Hamas does not speak for all Palestinians.
Difficult questions
Difficult questions must be asked about goals Israel is pursuing, he said. The US has been concerned from the outset that Israel will rush into an invasion of Gaza without knowing exactly what will happen to Gaza and its people after the elimination of Hamas. US military officials have also indicated that an invasion would lead to a long and difficult ground war from house to house.
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Biden echoed the comparison often used in Israel with the terrorist attacks in the US of September 11, 2001, referred to as ‘9/11’. Given the size of Israel, you would rather be talking about fifteen 9/11s, he said.
Biden therefore underlined his understanding of all-encompassing anger, comparable to the anger the US felt after the attacks in New York and Washington. But he also cited that the US, blinded by anger, made mistakes after 9/11. Anger, Biden said, is not a strategy.