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ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 04 Apr 2024 2:38 pm - Jerusalem Time

Biden maintains his policy of supporting Israel regardless of its violations of international law

Politico magazine said that the administration of US President Joe Biden has no plans or intentions to change its policy towards Israel, after Israeli army forces killed seven humanitarian relief workers affiliated with the World Central Kitchen Foundation, which is based in Washington.


President Joe Biden was particularly angry about the deadly strike, criticizing Israel in a public statement, calling for “accountability” before those responsible and demanding that more humanitarian aid be allowed into Gaza. “But two senior administration officials told (Politico) that this is... "The farthest President Biden and the White House will go is right now."


“This is all we planned,” said one official, who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about administration planning or internal reactions.


Experts said that Biden's expression of anger in his statement issued on Tuesday is considered the latest example of the United States criticizing Israel's behavior in the war it is waging against Gaza, while America remains hesitant to use its influence to impose change. Biden stood in support of Israel despite all its crimes against Israel. Palestinian civilian citizens, declared dozens of times that he "supports Israel in its quest to defeat Hamas militarily," and ignored calls from progressives and pro-Palestinian voices from his own Democratic Party to impose conditions on military aid or impose other restrictions.


The administration argues that taking punitive steps against Israel will lead the United States to lose any influence it has with Israel, which raises the dissatisfaction of voices that indicate Israel's complete dependence on the United States with weapons, equipment, money, technology, and diplomatic protection.


This has caused divisions within the Biden administration, with a senior official telling POLITICO, “It is just a process of rubbing hands and repeating this (by the administration) with the Israelis, as the American political system either cannot or does not want to draw a real line with the Israelis that they are prohibited from crossing.” "This is unfortunate."


National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed on Wednesday that the United States is not planning any imminent change in its approach toward Israel. He added: “We still support their right to defend themselves and will continue to do so. “We will also see what the outcome of the investigation is,” he said in a call with reporters, adding, “I will not pre-empt decisions that have not yet been made.”


Senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, apologized for dropping bombs Monday night on the World Central Kitchen convoy.


The organization's three vehicles clearly bore the WCK badge and drove along a protected road in central Gaza, after coordination with the Israeli occupation authorities. However, Israeli forces continued to beat relief workers several times despite being informed of the convoy's movements. The group temporarily stopped food deliveries after the raid.


In his statement Tuesday evening, Biden was stern. “Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed assistance to civilians.” He added: "Events like the one that took place yesterday should not happen. Israel also did not do enough to protect civilians."


Another senior administration official expanded on Biden's message, saying: “The bombing of humanitarian aid — at a time when Israel recently agreed to do more to get aid to northern Gaza — is a huge problem.”


An initial Israeli investigation into the attack indicated that forces incorrectly identified the convoy as enemy targets. “I want to be very clear: the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming aid workers at WCK,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy, IDF Chief of Staff, said Tuesday in a video message. “It was a mistake that followed a mistaken identity at night during a war in very complicated circumstances.”


In turn, the founder of the "Global Central Kitchen" organization, José Andres, confirmed on Wednesday that the Israeli attack that led to the death of seven aid workers in Gaza targeted them "systematically, car after car."


He said in televised interviews that the "Global Central Kitchen" charitable group he founded was in clear contact with the Israeli army, which he said knew the movements of its relief workers.


The famous chef said: "This was not just bad luck. Unfortunately, we dropped the bomb in the wrong place. Even if we were not coordinating with Israeli forces, no democratic country or army could target civilians and humanitarian workers."


Kirby (White House spokesman) told reporters on Tuesday that there was "no evidence" that Israel intended to intentionally kill aid workers.


“It is noteworthy that the World Central Kitchen is working with the US Army to build a temporary dock to deliver aid to Gaza, which makes the organization vital for the Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinian residents to obtain food, water and other necessities,” according to Politco.


About 200 aid workers have been killed since the war began last year, but the reaction to this incident has been much greater because many in Washington - including the Biden administration - are close to Andres and dine at his many restaurants around the capital.


Many officials across the administration were already alarmed by the growing number of civilians and aid workers killed, but “this strike had a different impact,” said a US official, who was granted anonymity to detail the internal reaction. “Everyone loves Jose World Central Kitchen and doing so seems horribly wrong and blatantly stupid.”


The US Agency for International Development said on Wednesday evening that there are still concerns about deteriorating conditions inside Gaza.

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Biden maintains his policy of supporting Israel regardless of its violations of international law