A new US document requires allies to pledge human rights in exchange for military assistance.
throughout a news briefing on Thursday, U.S. President Biden seemed to label Israel’s military response to the Hamas attack in Gaza on October 7 as “over the top,” in what may be his most critical remarks throughout the continuing conflict.
The fact that Biden made these remarks immediately after being questioned about “the hostage negotiations” by a reporter may have contributed to the mistake.
Without mentioning which reaction he was referring to, Biden stepped back to the platform and stated, “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top.”
Furthermore, Biden recently referred to Hamas’ response as “a little over the top” in reference to the most recent hostage settlement proposal.
Minutes before, the president had defended Biden’s mental capacity against a Justice Department Special Council’s recent allegations that he had mismanaged top secret materials and had trouble recalling significant life events.
Biden continued to address the discussions by referring to Egypt’s president, Mohamed el-Sisi, as “the president of Mexico, Sisi.”
El-Sisi “did not want to open the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in,” according to Biden. I had a conversation with him. I got him to let me through the fence. I requested that Bibi [Netanyahu] unlock the Israeli side’s gate. I have been working really hard to bring supplies of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Many innocent people are starving, many innocent people are in distress, and many innocent people are dying, and this has to end.
Should Biden be speaking on Israel’s reaction to October 7, his words would align with his administration’s growingly critical stance toward Israel in the past several months.
Similarly, a fresh document from the United States specifying restrictions on military support to its allies would potentially be intended to put further pressure on Israel to consent to a peaceful resolution to the Gaza Conflict.
The memorandum, which does not directly relate to Israel, instead requires “credible and reliable written assurances” of respect to international law, particularly international human rights law, before providing military aid to any ally.
The primary goal of the Biden administration’s lobbying in recent weeks has been to stop an Israeli push on the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
According to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, the United States would not support such an operation under the existing conditions on Thursday.
Similarly, highlighting the potentially disastrous outcomes, State Department deputy spokeswoman Vedant Patel stated that Washington had not yet seen proof of “serious planning” by Israel for an operation in Rafah. “It would be disastrous to conduct such an operation at this time without planning,” he declared.
The majority of the Israeli captives are believed to be being held in the tunnel system beneath Rafah, which is the only significant town still under Hamas control. It is also thought that the terror group’s surviving leadership hides there.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have pledged again and time again that Israeli forces will enter Rafah. In recent days, the IDF has increased the number of its airstrikes in the region.