I’m getting the impression the US is managing this war on Israel’s behalf. Some of the quotes from Blinken leave one with that impression.
Headline- Blinken Urges Israel to Think of Postwar Role
That’s not a call to ceasefire. Or a call to reduce civilian casualties. That’s encouraging Israel to make plans for the land they’ve cleansed of people
Blinken repeated that Israel has the right to defend itself in the wake of Hamas’s deadly attack on Oct. 7. But he also sought to paint a picture of a secure future for Israel, raising the prospect of US-backed regional integration for Israel and Arab nations.
There are Israelis asking for ceasefire- But under Netanyahu’s leadership the ethnic cleansing continues
Outside the hotel in Tel Aviv where Blinken was holding his meetings, Israeli protesters held up placards, banged drums and called for a cease-fire that might enable the release of more hostages — with Israel’s ongoing military operations making it more likely that hostages will be killed inadvertently before they’re freed.
“Bring them home now!” the crowd chanted.
As stated previously, Israel doesn’t care if the hostages come home alive. The leadership will blame Hamas and give themselves a free pass.
Tel Aviv has reached none of its stated goals in the Gaza war, which are annihilation of Hamas or disarming of Hamas and release of captives held by Palestinians in Gaza. That brings the security and military establishment in Tel Aviv, whose reputation has been seriously dented following the October 7 attack, under immense pressure. On the other hand, there has been a cover-up of the heavy casualty suffered by Israeli troops in the Gaza operation. The Kerman terrorist attack and the killing of Saleh al-Arouri actually betray a high level of frustration.The pattern of Israeli behaviour needs to be understood from different angles. This is an incredibly complicated matrix. First and foremost, the Israeli operation in Gaza so far has been a failure. It turned the world opinion, especially in the Global South, heavily against Israel — South Africa’s petition to the International Criminal Court over war crimes in Gaza being the most telling evidence of it — while Israeli military came a cropper in terms of its agenda to decimate Hamas.
In political terms, there is a convergence between the security and military establishment and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (whose political future hangs by a thread) and the ultra-rightist fascist forces aligned with him, whose interests lie in an extended war.
The only external force capable of pressuring Israel is of course the US administration.
But it is too much to expect President Biden to draw the ‘red line’ to Israel — that is, even assuming that he has the political will to do so — given the Israel Lobby’s control of the Congress
and its seamless capacity for making or destroying the careers of US politicians.Washington has not changed the intensity of Israeli military operation. On the other hand, the US has shipped to Israel 10,000 tons of arms to Israel in the recent period alone. In fact, it cannot be a coincidence that every single Blinken visit to the region since October 7 has witnessed a particularly brutal Israeli attack to up the ante. In effect,
the US is broadly in support of the Israeli policy
and a commitment to the destruction of Hamas, in particular.Therefore,
Biden’s interest narrows down to prevent the war from spreading in the region lest direct American military intervention becomes necessary. The US rhetoric and diplomatic posturing largely aims at damage control in Washington’s relations with its erstwhile allies in the region. Quintessentially, Blinken’s mission comes down cheap window dressing
— viz., to bringing the regional states to the same page that Israel is facing an existential crisis. But it does not take into account that the region has changed radically.
Read the rest at the link provided