President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have issued mixed messages in recent days about their support for Israel, reflecting competing priorities within their administration and the growing credibility of Hamas terrorists. sending.
On Friday, Harris said Israel has the right to defend itself, while also suggesting that the Biden administration opposes the Israeli government. Biden echoed similar sentiments on Saturday, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “hurting Israel.”
Biden also said Israel should not attack Hamas’ last battalion in Rafah, calling it a “red line that should not be crossed.” At the same time, he said he had no intention of punishing Israel by cutting back on the weapons it needs for self-defense.
In effect, Biden is saying that winning the war is a “red line” that Israel cannot cross. But he declined to say what the outcome would be.
Instead, it emphasized the need to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, as if Israel were not allowing hundreds of trucks into Gaza every day.
Biden now wants to build a port in Gaza to help import aid, but has promised no “activities on the ground,” meaning the US will have to rely on Israel for support. become.
So instead of leveraging American influence over Israeli policy, Biden is actually trying to make the U.S. military dependent on Israeli aid and reduce American influence. While he criticizes Israel, he ties the regime more closely to the war effort.
These contradictory messages are the result of political pressure within the White House and the Democratic Party.
Anti-Israel officials protested against Biden’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, who attacked Israel without provocation on October 7. Additionally, in key battleground states such as Michigan, Arab American and Muslim American voters have indicated they will not support him. Biden will seek re-election unless he imposes a cease-fire and abandons Israel.
Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are facing these pressures, and rather than defending America’s interests in stopping Islamic extremist terrorism, Mr. Biden and Mr. Harris are trying to deal with it both ways, by sending arms to Israel and criticizing the Israeli government at the same time.
The result is damaging Israel’s war effort without convincing disaffected anti-Israel voters to change their minds.
This contradiction is beginning to harm the war effort.
The more Biden forces Israel to delay a potentially war-ending attack on Rafah, the longer it will prolong the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, harm the Palestinians, and increase pressure on Israel. Become. This pressure persuades Hamas to continue fighting rather than agree to a deal to exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian terrorists or a six-week ceasefire that would save Palestinian lives.
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, reportedly said that the suffering of the Palestinians would eventually lead to the White House halting arms sales to Israel, ending the war, allowing Hamas to survive and return to power. He believes it will be possible for him to remain in the seat.
That is clearly why Hamas has made tougher demands in negotiations, saying it will not release the 134 Israeli hostages it still holds until Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza. Hamas has also called for more violence during the holy month of Ramadan, aiming to stir up public opinion in the Muslim world.
Biden and Harris are sending mixed messages, encouraging Hamas to believe it is winning.
It would be easier and more effective to support Israel and help it win the war. The one-time cost of Israel’s attack on Rafah is that it could end the war in weeks rather than months and allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians without fear that Hamas would steal the aid for its own ends. It’s definitely worth the return.
It would be good for U.S. interests if Hamas were defeated, sending a message to would-be terrorists around the world.
It’s also possible that Biden and Harris simply don’t understand the stakes.
biden Said He argued that Israel should find ways other than war to deal with the “trauma” of the October 7 terrorist attacks, as if Israel could solve its problem of terrorism through grief counseling.
His advice is reminiscent of the appalling behavior by then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who invited folk-rock singer James Taylor to serenade a French audience in response to the 2015 Islamic terrorist attacks.
Israelis cannot afford such feelings. They decided they could no longer allow Hamas to threaten them.
Biden and Harris once appeared to agree. But perhaps they are not prepared to bear the political costs necessary to win.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of the recent book, The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Participate in It), now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
