The United States is pressing Arab leaders to take steps to prevent or contain any escalation resulting from the potential Israeli occupation of Gaza, while Arab officials fear that their silence on Israel’s invasion of Gaza may spark street protests, according to The Wall newspaper. American Street Journal.

The American newspaper explained in a report, Saturday, October 14, 2023, that some Arab officials fear that images of the violent bombing in Gaza and its buildings that were leveled will push their country’s citizens to protest in the streets. Increasing support for Hamas in a way that makes it the legitimate leadership of the Palestinian people; And strengthening Hezbollah and the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.

During the past week, American officials sought to convey these fears of Israel’s invasion of Gaza to their counterparts in Tel Aviv.

Framing the Arab response to Israel's invasion of Gaza

One of the Arab diplomats said that the goal of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's tour of Arab capitals is to seek to frame the expected response from those countries to Israel's invasion of Gaza, which may be extremely destructive to Gaza.

In the meetings he held in Tel Aviv and in the countries he visited in the region, Blinken sought to urge Arab countries to put aside mistrust of Israel and cooperate to isolate Hamas, and to stand firmly in the face of the threats of Hezbollah in Lebanon and its strong supporter, Iran.

American pressure in the region relies on a long-term American effort to normalize stable relations between the Israeli occupation and Arab countries, and the ability of these efforts to overcome the complications arising from the recent violence and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to what the Wall Street Journal reported.

Blinken said before his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan: “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people nor their legitimate aspirations for the future,” but rather, “Hamas is a terrorist group. Its only program is to destroy the State of Israel and kill the Jews. It is important for the whole world to see this.” Grammar.

Meanwhile, the White House said that US President Joe Biden, on Saturday, October 14, made a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Biden also told Netanyahu that Israel has the “firm” support of the United States, and discussed American coordination with the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, “to ensure that innocent civilians have access to water, food, and medical care.” He told Abbas that he would offer his "full support" to the Palestinian Authority's efforts to seek to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

The American mission will not be easy

However, cutting off Hamas - nor reassuring Arab allies who have little confidence in Israel - was not easy. The ruling family in Qatar wanted to continue hosting the political office of Hamas on its territory to enable communications regarding prisoners held by Hamas in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, said in the press conference he held with Blinken, Friday, October 13, that the Hamas office will remain open “as long as communications remain open at the present time, and work is underway to put an end to for this conflict.

Meanwhile, American officials realize that there are restrictions on Arab leaders that prevent them from speaking out against Hamas, for fear that they would thereby violate popular support in their countries for the Palestinian struggle against Israel. Evidence of this is that Saudi Arabia criticized Israel in its comment on the Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, October 14, the Saudi Foreign Minister said: “It is important that we all condemn the targeting of civilians in any form, at any time, and by anyone.”

In Egypt, US officials pressured their Egyptian counterparts to negotiate the exit of foreign residents in Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid.

American and Arab officials also said that discussions between the two countries focused on securing the safe exit of an estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza. The Egyptian President's government has held similar talks with several countries looking to remove their nationals from Gaza after the outbreak of war.

However, these talks did not address the fate of Palestinians who may wish to leave the Gaza Strip before the expected Israeli ground invasion. An Arab official said: “The idea of opening the Rafah crossing to [all] civilians was not discussed.” Rather, “the Americans only talked about safe passage for those holding American citizenship.”

Biden's support for Israel

On the other hand, the strong support provided by the Biden administration to Israel is one of the factors that adds difficulties to Blinken’s mission to pressure Arab countries.

However, the United States believes that strong military support for Israel is critical to deter Lebanese Hezbollah from opening a second front in northern Israel, and to prevent violence from spreading to the West Bank.

Moreover, any reluctance to support Israel would strengthen the political attacks of Republican Party supporters seeking to regain the presidency in the White House.

Despite this, American officials claim that they do not seek to shape the Israeli military campaign against Hamas, but rather only support it, and stress that they want to rely on the Israeli occupation to reduce the repercussions on civilians, which is a major demand of Arab countries.