While it was announced that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will once again attend a session of the Board of Directors of the Israeli war on Gaza and will request a humanitarian truce and make the issue of prisoners held by Hamas a first priority, circles close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed their concern over the reports that spoke of advice. President Joe Biden has to resign.

Circles on the extreme right said that “the intimate embrace that Biden showed to Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport was truly a suffocating bear hug,” and that behind this embrace hide amazing demands and direct interference, not only in the management of the war, but in the management of the country as well.

These sources confirmed that, although the White House disavowed that publication, American practices confirm that “there is no smoke without fire,” and that Biden, like the majority of Israelis, has become convinced that Netanyahu is prolonging the war for reasons that serve his personal and partisan interests, and that This trend causes great harm to Biden's electoral battle. Therefore, Blinken came to discuss the prevailing differences between the two governments, and to bring about a change in Israeli war tactics, such as agreeing on a several-hour truce, doubling the entry of humanitarian relief materials, including fuel into the Gaza Strip, and placing the prisoners’ issue at the top of the list of priorities.

Boiling state

It is noteworthy that the Israeli political arena entered a state of boiling, on the night of Wednesday - Thursday, due to the report published on the American “Politico” website, which stated that “despite the Israeli-American understanding of the goals of the war, especially the overthrow of the Hamas regime, the administration US President Joe Biden believes that there are matters being managed incorrectly that are causing harm to Israel and American interests, and she added that the president believes that Benjamin Netanyahu has only a limited time left in his position as prime minister of the Israeli government.

The discussion around this news took a long time, and political reporters added more information to it. They revealed that “American envoys spoke about the issue with many central figures in Israel, including figures from the Likud Party and a central religious figure (meaning Aryeh Deri, head of the Shas party of religious Eastern Jews).”

For the basic issue

The main issue that made the Americans speak in this way is not only what is being published about the lack of confidence in Netanyahu in the Israeli street, but rather the fear that he is seeking to artificially prolong the war in order to remain in power. The Politico website, known for its close relations in Congress and the White House, quoted an unnamed American official as saying, “The American administration believes that Netanyahu has only a limited time left in office.” The official stated, “The US administration’s expectations suggest that Netanyahu will remain in office for a few months, or at least until the end of the first phase of the war, despite the unpredictability of Israeli policy.” He added: “There is a process of self-reckoning in Israeli society, but in the end the primary responsibility falls on Netanyahu.”

The website confirmed that it had three sources who spoke about the matter. She said that Netanyahu's inevitable political fate was raised in the recent White House meetings in which Biden participated, according to two senior officials in the US administration. This included discussions that took place since Biden returned from his visit to Israel, two weeks ago, where he met with Netanyahu and advised him to be careful in managing the war and not expand it.

I suggested to him that he give preference to the two-state solution, and be aware of the importance of taking other measures, other than the goal of eliminating Hamas, and beware of returning to the occupation of the Gaza Strip. The two US administration officials added, “Biden went so far as to be frank with Netanyahu about the matter by explicitly suggesting that he must appoint an acting representative and think about the lessons from the war that he will share with whoever will succeed him in office.” He told him: “Even if this happened during the war, you should hand over the reins of government to your successor in a proper manner.”

Just speculation

However, the “Politico” website found a fourth source who denied this news or downplayed its importance, and said, “Another White House official downplayed the importance of these conversations about Netanyahu’s future, and said that they were just speculation, and stressed that the administration’s focus is directly on supporting Netanyahu.” Israel's security. But he explained that Netanyahu's "shaky grip" in power is always "in the background" during the Biden administration's internal talks about the Middle East. While the spokeswoman for the National Security Council in the White House, Adrian Watson, denied the news and considered it false, she said: “What was stated in the report was not discussed in the past, and was not discussed today by the President.” We are now focused on addressing the current crisis.” The US State Department refused to comment.

The site returned to confirm, despite the denial, that the political sources that spoke to it indicated that American officials contacted a member of the Israeli “emergency government”, Benny Gantz, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and the head of the opposition and former Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, and held talks with them about the future. Politics close to Israel.

Israeli reactions

One of the first Israeli reactions to this publication was to refrain from making statements, neither from those around Netanyahu nor from other figures, but the political correspondents who left war affairs and began investigating this publication returned with news confirming everything published by the American website.

They added that at a certain stage, they also spoke with certain figures in the Likud Party itself, which Netanyahu leads, and they listened to the saying that “Netanyahu’s days in power are numbered.” They also spoke with a central religious figure of great importance, by which they mean Aryeh Deri, the head of the “Shas” party of religious Eastern Jews, who is considered very close to Netanyahu to the point that he includes him in the war and cabinet management board even though he is not a minister. Deri heard himself say after the war that the era of Netanyahu was over.

According to commentators on “Channel 12,” “Channel 11,” and “Channel 13,” the background to the American position stemmed from Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war, and his refusal to announce any truce, even for a short period, until aid is brought in and an opportunity is given to reach an agreement. On the issue of liberating hostages through a prisoner exchange deal. The Americans expressed this concern in conversations with Israeli figures. They asked Gantz about the extent of his influence on decisions in the War Administration Council.

Decision of the Minister of Finance

Wednesday and Thursday witnessed a battle in the Israeli government over the decision of the Minister of Finance, Pazlal Smotrich, to reject the request of the security services to release tax and customs funds to the Palestinian Authority. While Defense Minister Yoav Galant requested the release of these funds, saying that the Authority plays an important role in preventing the expansion of solidarity activities with Gaza in the West Bank, and contributes to preventing terrorist operations against Israel, and we should not punish it for that, Smotrich responded that the Palestinian Authority is hostile to Israel. It is running a fierce incitement campaign against Israel.

It seems that this discussion is linked to what Politico published. Netanyahu surprised his ministers by saying that the government must begin deliberations on the fate of Gaza after the war. Just a few days ago, several Israeli plans were made public that include deporting all Gazans to Sinai, including two drawn up by Netanyahu's close aides. Netanyahu explained to his ministers that thoughtful decisions must be made on the issue, and irresponsible leaks must not be allowed, especially since these leaks deal with proposals that have not been decided upon in any government session.

Political sources said that Netanyahu took this step after he understood that the American administration was concerned about the deportation projects and the angry Egyptian and Jordanian response to them. She added that Secretary Blinken's assistant, Barbara Leaf, arrived in the country for the purpose of preparing for his second visit during the war, which will take place on Friday.

I asked for the Israeli position to be crystallized accurately, and for an end to the leaking of plans affecting countries in the region. She said that the war should have a clear political goal, so that Israel's friends know where to go in supporting it. Washington hopes that the concerned parties will agree on a formulation that opens the doors of hope for a political process that leads to a two-state solution.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat