ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 03 Jan 2024 4:23 pm - Jerusalem Time

Absence of discussions within Biden administration to limit military aid to Israel

Despite Israel's mass slaughter in Gaza, there are "no serious discussions" within the Biden administration about isolating Israel or placing any conditions on military aid, the New York Times reported earlier this week.


The report detailed President Biden's commitment to supporting the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has destroyed nearly 70% of the Strip so far, saying that "he has engaged in the conflict more intensely than almost any other issue during his three years in office."


American and Israeli media reported that US President Joe Biden held tense talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and made minimal efforts to get Israel to change its tactics, but he refuses to use any influence that the United States possesses to pressure Israel.


At the same time, Israel acknowledges that the United States is its main supporter and does not want to completely ignore President Biden's proposals. According to reports, Israel has agreed to some steps requested by the United States, including allowing limited aid to be delivered to Gaza, which the United Nations and other relief agencies say is completely out of proportion to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face it. Famine-like conditions.


The New York Times report said that Israeli officials “realize that President Biden is their most important ally amid growing global criticism and realize that he is the only thing preventing the United Nations from imposing sanctions” on Israel. Besides unconditional military support, the United States also provides Israel with political cover and has used its veto power on two separate occasions to reject calls for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council, or worked to water down several resolutions in the Security Council that called for a ceasefire in Gaza.


The Gaza Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the death toll in Gaza exceeded 22,000 on Tuesday, including more than 8,000 children. More than 57,000 Palestinians were injured, and nearly 90% of Gaza's population was displaced.


The Biden administration showed its commitment to supporting the Israeli offensive on Friday by bypassing Congress for the second time since October 7 to deliver more weapons to Israel. The most recent deal reached was the purchase of 155 mm artillery shells and related equipment worth $147.5 million.


IIn turn, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (from the state of Maine) said in a tweet on the X platform last week: “After more than 20,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 53,000 were injured. Congress must not provide a single additional penny to the extreme right-wing government of Netanyahu to continue its horrific war against men, women and children in Gaza,” but he did not demand a ceasefire.

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Absence of discussions within Biden administration to limit military aid to Israel

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