Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday responded to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s claims that anyone who believes an invasion of Rafah is the only way to defeat Hamas is a “straw man”. “Nonsense,” he argued.
President Joe Biden has for weeks spoken out against a possible Israeli attack on Hamas in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border, the terror group’s last stronghold. Biden said he was concerned about the welfare of the roughly 1 million Palestinian civilians in the area, many of whom have taken refuge in Rafah from other parts of Gaza. He also appears to want to pressure Israel to accept a Palestinian state as a result of the war that Hamas launched on October 7.
As reported by Breitbart News, Sullivan told reporters on Monday that Biden expressed opposition to the Rafah invasion in a phone call with Netanyahu (as Biden ousted Netanyahu). (days after supporting calls for Israel to hold new elections).
Sullivan said it was a mistake to believe that an invasion of Rafah was necessary to defeat Hamas. He did not say how else he would defeat Hamas, but hinted that a “two-state solution” could persuade Hamas to end its war against Israel.
Biden also called Israeli officials to a meeting in Washington in the last week of March to discuss what Israel can and cannot do in Rafah, and authorized only limited operations against specific Hamas targets. suggested that it might be possible.
The United States has leverage over Israel because Israel relies heavily on arms and ammunition manufactured by American companies, and because the Democratic-run Senate has yet to approve billions of dollars in emergency aid. This is because they are not.
In a statement Tuesday to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee published by the Government Press Office and translated from Hebrew, Netanyahu said he had accepted Biden’s invitation but would insist on entering Rafah (emphasis added). .
We are conducting a dual operation: a military operation and a diplomatic operation. Of course, they are interconnected, and diplomatic struggles give us time and resources to reach the full outcome of the war.
We have been fighting for more than five months, a record in the history of Israeli wars excluding the War of Independence. Of course, we are under increasing international pressure, which we reject in order to achieve the objectives of the war. The war’s objectives, simply put, are to destroy or eliminate Hamas’ military and governance capabilities, to free all hostages, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.
To achieve this, it is necessary to complete the military elimination of Hamas. There is no alternative. we can’t avoid it. Nor can we say, “We will destroy 80% of Hamas and leave 20%.” Because from that 20% Hamas will reorganize, reoccupy the Strip, and, of course, become a new threat to Israel. And, of course, this will be a victory for the larger axis that threatens us, the Iranian axis.
We are therefore determined to complete the elimination of Hamas. To do this, it is necessary to eliminate the remaining battalion in Rafah and, of course, the 1.5 battalion in the central camp. We are determined to do so. We have a discussion and we will put it on the table, but everyone knows that. Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, also said this yesterday. We are discussing with the Americans the need to enter Rafah, but we are discussing the need to enter Rafah, not the need to eliminate Hamas. There appears to be no way to eliminate Hamas militarily without destroying these remaining battalions. We are determined to do so.
Out of respect for the President, we agreed on how he could present his ideas to us, especially on the humanitarian side. Of course, we fully share this desire to facilitate an orderly evacuation and the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians. We have been doing this since the beginning of the war.
However, I have conveyed to the President as clearly as possible that we are determined to complete the annihilation of these battalions in Rafah and that there is no way to accomplish this without a ground invasion.
The delay in the final attack on Hamas was reportedly compounded by a slowdown in US arms deliveries to Israel and Mr Biden’s opposition. Ironically, the delay exacerbated the humanitarian crisis for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said since early February that ending the war would only take “weeks,” not “months.” That is, assuming Israel can actually fight until victory. Six weeks later, the final attack on Rafa still awaits.
Former President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview aired Sunday that he called on Israel to “end” Hamas and end the war quickly. He added that Hamas would never have attacked if he had been president.
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 recent books.The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)‘ is 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.
