The growing objection to the Gaza aggression worries the American administration...and Israel

By Victor Chalhoub

The scene that prevailed yesterday, Tuesday, in the session of the US Senate Appropriations Committee when it heard the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, largely summarizes the atmosphere of growing resentment in the American arena over Washington’s support for the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

A large portion of the audience in the hall boycotted the two ministers five times with chants of condemnation and demands for a ceasefire, while raising red-dyed hands as a symbol of the administration’s hand being tainted by the blood of thousands of civilians who were claimed by the blind Israeli bombing of residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip.

This symbolic image reflected a state of rejection that grew rapidly during recent days after the return of communications with Gaza and the influx of pictures and videos of devastation, death and displacement, especially the Jabalia camp massacre, and the destruction and fall of innocent women, children and the elderly that preceded it, amid warnings from the concerned international institutions of an imminent collapse in the general situation. , especially health and livelihood.

It seems that Israel realized this and cut off communications again on Tuesday night, as was reported, to cover up the military operation. This scene led to tensions that erupted in the form of demonstrations, threats, and tensions, some of which targeted Jews, especially in universities and some of their religious institutions, and some of which targeted Muslims and Arabs with the return of Islamophobia and its violent and inflammatory expressions in more than one state.

The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned on Tuesday, in a session with a congressional committee, of the dangers and consequences of such climates generated by the war.

The American administration miscalculated in its local calculations, thinking that what happened on October 7 allowed Israel to be given a blank check, even with its corners rounded, to invade Gaza. It refused to consider any ceasefire, claiming that this “prevents Israel from exercising its right to defend and respond,” and was content with reminding it of the duty to protect civilians. When the number of victims increased, I doubted its authenticity, claiming that there was no reliable authority to confirm it! But when the camera revealed the scale of the massacre, it had no choice but to use the excuse that in any war of this kind it is difficult to guarantee the safety of civilians.

But the mitigating reasons came too late. Now 60% of Americans support the ceasefire, and even the media talk has moved relatively from approaching the conflict as if it began on October 7 to linking it, albeit vaguely, to its background and to Netanyahu’s mistakes. Of course, the voices of the establishment and its authorities, not to mention Congress, still stress the necessity of Israel completing its declared mission, from which the phrase “completely eliminating” Hamas was absent and was replaced by the phrase “achieving victory and its defeat.”

This change in the American mood regarding the war raised concerns in the White House, which decided yesterday that Secretary Blinken would return to the region next Friday, to search for a way to “cool down” the situation, albeit temporarily, such as arranging some deal regarding the hostages, or a truce to catch some breath from the situation. On the one hand, and to relieve tension on the other parties.

It also aroused concern for Netanyahu, who was quick to publish an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “The Battle of Civilization,” in which he addressed the Americans, warning that what is happening now “is not Israel’s war alone” and that “if Hamas wins with Iran, you will be its second target.” He knows that the decline in support for the war among American public opinion will reflect on the position of the American administration, especially in an election year. He may also be addressing Congress, which is divided over the foreign support package requested by the president, linking the aid allocated to Israel ($14.7 billion) to aid to Ukraine, protection purposes to Taiwan, and the border crisis with Mexico.

The White House, with a bipartisan majority in the Senate, has passed the entire package. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives opposes the linkage, and insists on separate approval of aid to Israel. Until now, the project has been frozen due to this dispute.

The White House practically wanted to leave the rope to Israel in Gaza, and at the same time, it expressed its blame for the tragedy of the civilians who were graciously given the aid they received in the last days, after the world was abuzz with their plight.

The American administration has ignored the ongoing violation of international law and the law of war, which it has stressed more than once that Israel must abide by, but it says that it has not yet been able to confirm this violation! So far, it has also not issued any comment on the document leaked yesterday, which was prepared by Israeli intelligence last month regarding the plan to deport Palestinians from Gaza to Sinai.

Source: Araby Al-Jadeed