Blinken's Diplomatic Blitz Went Bust Due to US’ Slavish Servility to Israel
17:08 GMT 01.12.2023 (Updated: 09:24 GMT 05.12.2023)
© AFP 2023 / SAUL LOEB
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Secretary Blinken ended his visit to Israel and left minutes after fighting in Gaza resumed, nixing gushing reports in US media about the trip being “one of the most significant diplomatic moves” to date with an eye toward ending the conflict. Sputnik asked experts to explain why the Israeli tail seems so consistently able to wag the American dog.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Israel early Friday morning to take part in a climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, with Israeli warplanes taking off to pound Gaza shortly before his departure, signaling the collapse of the hard-fought for week-long truce brokered by Qatar and Egypt.
During his stay in Israel, the secretary warned Israeli officials that Tel Aviv wouldn’t be able pursue its war with Hamas in Gaza indefinitely, given domestic and international pressures, and wagged his finger at America’s closest ally about the need to avoid “the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale that we saw in northern Gaza” in the southern part of the Strip.
Israeli cabinet ministers reportedly “pushed back” against some of Blinken’s concerns during their private meeting, assuring that the IDF adheres to the laws of war, and that the Israeli public would support even the campaign to crush Hamas even if it lasted “months.” Blinken reportedly proposed a limit of just “weeks” more worth of fighting.
“I made clear that before Israel resumes major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian, civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocents,” Blinken told reporters after his meetings. “That means taking more effective steps to protect the lives of civilians, including by clearly and precisely designating areas and places in southern and central Gaza where they can be safe and out of the line of fire.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported Friday that at least 109 Palestinians had been killed and scores more injured in Israeli strikes just hours after the humanitarian pause’s expiration.
The somber outcome was preceded by upbeat reports in legacy media that Washington’s pressure would be “one of the most significant diplomatic moves yet in the more than 50-day conflict.”
“The question now, if a seven-day truce is permanently broken, is whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is prepared to listen,” an analysis by CNN suggested.
The IDF’s Friday morning bombings seemed to have answered that question in no uncertain terms.
Why Can Israel Afford to Ignore Washington's Warnings?
“Israel will continue the war as long as the US continues to supply it with ammunition, equipment, bombs, as well as political, moral and financial support,” says Jamal Zahalka, a former Israeli Knesset member and veteran Palestinian-Israeli politician.
“The Biden administration has fully accepted Israel’s goals in this war and supports them. This is evidenced by Blinken’s latest visit, after which the ceasefire was ended,” Zahalka told Sputnik.
The Palestinian-Israeli politician expects Washington to continue providing Tel Aviv with its “full support” regardless of what the Israeli government does, unless it threatens America’s own interests in the region, such as in the case of traditionally US-friendly Arab monarchies taking a sharply anti-Israeli stance, or the situation escalating to the brink of a regional war involving Iran.
In that case, “Biden may be forced to end the war in order not to lose the upcoming elections because of his position in support of Israel,” Zahalka said. Otherwise, not only the US, but Israel “is basically unable to stop the escalation” at this point, according to the politician, because its “leadership does not want to end the war or withdraw troops from Gaza.”
1 December 2023, 14:20 GMT
Prof. Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, has a different view, saying Hamas is to blame for the conflict’s resumption by breaching the shaky ceasefire over “100 times” throughout the past week, and adding that what Blinken said, did or did not do has nothing to do with it.
“So we are talking about more than 100 breaches. And this is exactly the reason that we sort of resumed the military operation,” Michael, a former deputy director general of Israel’s Ministry for Strategic Affairs, and head of its Palestinian desk, told Sputnik.
As far as Israel is concerned, Michael believes Tel Aviv has “two options…directed toward the same objective,” which remains “dismantling the military and governmental capacity of Hamas” and preventing it from ever becoming a “military threat towards Israel” or becoming “the ruling power in the Gaza Strip or any other Palestinian territory.”
“If they prefer to continue fighting, we will have to kill them and dismantle…every military or governmental centers…until collapsing the organization. And this is exactly what we do,” Michael said.
The Israeli observer expects the fighting from now on to extend beyond Gaza’s northern half. “Israel has the right to resume the war, and even at a moment like this this is an obligation. This is a duty. This is a must,” Michael insists.
1 December 2023, 07:17 GMT
