President Biden on Wednesday ramped up his response to Arab concerns about Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza, saying there must be “a vision of what comes next” after the war, calling directly for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stressing that Israel must minimize civilian casualties regardless of whether it poses a “burden.”

“Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian civilians, and it’s despicable — and, not surprisingly, cowardly, as well,” Biden said. “This also puts an added burden on Israel while they go after Hamas. But that does not lessen the need for us to operate in line with the laws of war. Israel has to do everything in its power.”

He sought to signal to Arab leaders in the region that he has an agenda for the Middle East that goes beyond Israel’s destruction of Hamas and includes a Palestinian state. “When this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next,” Biden said. “And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution. And it means a concentrated effort from all parties — Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders — to put us on a path toward peace.”

In the aftermath of Hamas’s deadly attacks on Israeli civilians Oct. 7, Biden fiercely embraced Israel, traveled to Tel Aviv and emphasized the Jewish state’s right to hit back hard. But in recent days, he has increasingly responded to rising discontent in the Arab world over Israel’s devastating barrage of airstrikes and its comprehensive siege of Gaza, an enclave of roughly 2 million people.

Global calls increase for pause in Israel-Gaza violence

Arab leaders have called on Biden to more forcefully address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, where Israel has cut off food, fuel, electricity and water, and the hospital system has collapsed. Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s aerial bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 6,500 people, many of whom are children.

Arab leaders have also called on Biden to urge Israeli restraint and to signal that he has a vision beyond the current conflict that addresses the needs of Palestinians as well as Israelis. That pressure culminated in Biden’s comments Wednesday, which punctuate a steady change in tone regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict in recent days.

The president sharply denounced Israeli settlers who have attacked Palestinians in the West Bank in recent days. Hamas runs the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Authority governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has seen a more aggressive settler movement under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank that are pouring gasoline on the fire,” Biden said, noting that the attacks are happening in areas recognized by Israel as Palestinian-controlled. “This was a deal. The deal was made, and they’re attacking Palestinians in places they’re entitled to be. It has to stop. They have to be held accountable, and it has to stop now.”

The current crisis was ignited when Palestinian gunmen from Hamas broke through a sophisticated Israel-Gaza border fence and killed more than 1,400 Israelis by hunting down civilians in their homes and cars, burning people alive and taking scores of people hostage into Gaza. Israel is expected to launch a ground invasion of Gaza shortly, which could usher in an even deadlier phase of the war.

Violence quietly mounts in West Bank

Biden immediately condemned the Hamas attacks as “sheer evil,” suggesting they echoed centuries of antisemitic violence endured by Jews. But as Secretary of State Antony Blinken shuttled frenetically between Middle Eastern countries in the aftermath of the assault, the White House quickly realized it had to more directly address growing Arab fury over civilian suffering in Gaza to maintain support in the region, according to administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking.

“The [Arab] public is reacting very viscerally,” said Paul Salem, president and CEO of the Middle East Institute. “That’s something that spurred the administration, after their initial 9/11 reaction, to then also say, ‘Respect the laws of war, protect civilians and allow for humanitarian aid.’ All of that is pretty straightforward, and it relates to reducing anger in the Arab world and wider Muslim world.”

Source: Washington Post