OPINIONS

Thu 23 Oct 2025 10:45 am - Jerusalem Time

Why the American air train to Israel?

Rasem Abid

Rasem Abid

Opinion Writer

The airlift of American leaders to the occupying state resembles the airlift we witnessed on the second day of the battle on October 7, 2023, when American leaders – politicians, military officials, and security personnel – flocked to the occupying state. Former President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in the meetings of the "War Council" that was formed at that time, and it was announced that America would take the lead in the military and security war on the Gaza Strip, establishing a continuous air and sea bridge to Israel, which appeared on the brink of collapse. Had it not been for this air and sea bridge, and by the admission of Israeli leaders themselves, Israel would have collapsed within three days, as for the first time in its existence, it faced such an existential threat.

What is happening today is similar to what occurred on the second day of the battle on October 7, 2023. In light of the Israeli military failure to eliminate Palestinian resistance and achieve the minimum war objectives – recovering prisoners without negotiations with the resistance – and the inability to destroy the military and armament capabilities of the resistance and its tunnels, which is a demand that takes precedence over the demand for disarming the resistance and holds priority in American and Israeli demands, as well as the failure to achieve the maximum objectives of occupation, military rule, and resettlement and displacement through destruction, it became necessary to pursue a new goal aimed at disrupting the demographic balance in historical Palestine in favor of the settlers.

Israel is also facing an existential crisis, akin to a major nightmare for it, which is the reverse migration from Israel to abroad. According to Israeli radio, 25% of Israelis expressed their willingness to emigrate from Israel, and 6% have already left, not to mention the existence of about 2 million Israelis holding dual citizenship, of whom 400,000 do not wish to return.

Today, after the Israeli military failure to achieve the minimum and maximum war objectives, the focus has shifted to politically besieging the resistance so that they can achieve the war objectives, especially concerning the goal of international mandate "World Peace Council." Therefore, this airlift of American leaders, who have arrived and continue to arrive in Israel, comes in this context: to solidify the ceasefire and for the American administration to take the lead in this political project from A to Z, concerning the ceasefire, the introduction of aid and heavy equipment, the opening of crossings, reconstruction, and the day after for the sector, forming the force, and removing Netanyahu's objections to the participation of Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey in the intended international force, while considering Israeli security interests. Hence, the position of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance in the press conference he held the day before yesterday in Tel Aviv was clear: "Any violation of this agreement, with an incident here or there, does not mean that the agreement has fallen" – the goal to be achieved is very significant and extends beyond the Gaza Strip to the region and the area.

Before detailing the essence of the new plan and project, we saw how Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of the American president, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner participated in the meeting of the small political and security cabinet "the Cabinet" to pass Trump's plan, with Netanyahu enlisting Benny Gantz from the opposition to pass it, amid the rejection of Itamar Ben Gvir, Yair Lapid, and Smotrich of this plan unless it included disarming Hamas.

We must recognize that Trump's threats to Hamas, stating that if they violate the agreement, there are allies ready to intervene swiftly and eliminate them with all force and brutality, make us certain, despite the lack of surprise, of the positions and statements of this president. This audacity and alignment with the Israeli position, through the high tone he used in addressing the leadership of Hamas, serves as a fire cover for a battle taking place elsewhere, and a kind of appeasement for the occupying government’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, in response to his demands to retract his reservations about the participation of Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar in forming the required international force to be deployed in Gaza. After the visit of the U.S. Vice President revealed the presence of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, it became clear that the mission of the enhanced U.S. delegation is to confront Netanyahu with the reality that his inability to end the resistance militarily forces him to accept its political siege and seek to weaken it, and if possible disarm it, and that the reservations he places on Turkish, Egyptian, and Qatari participation prolong Hamas's control and restore its presence and build its strength. He must facilitate the commencement of the second phase of Trump's plan, including opening crossings, introducing aid and heavy machinery, forming the guaranteeing force, and involving those whom Hamas trusts and can communicate with, paving the way for the deployment

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Why the American air train to Israel?

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