2024-03-30 02:43:26
Although it was expected that Israel would be dissatisfied with the United States allowing the passage of the UN Security Council resolution issued on Monday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, the reaction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quite sharp, according to “Time” magazine.
Following the issuance of the resolution by the Security Council after the United States abstained from voting on it, Netanyahu announced the cancellation of a planned visit by a delegation of his senior advisors to Washington to hold talks about the war and alternatives to engaging in a ground battle in the city of Rafah that would affect more than a million civilians in the southern Gaza Strip.
The magazine believes that Netanyahu’s behavior was not far from his long history of antagonizing American presidents, especially Democrats, and provoking their anger.
She cites a situation that happened with Bill Clinton after Netanyahu gave him a “lecture” at the White House in 1996, which angered the American president at the time and said to his employees, according to the American magazine, “Who the hell is that and who does he think he is?” Who is the superpower here?
The magazine believes that the longest-serving prime minister in Israel did not learn from the experience, and perhaps concluded that he would escape the reaction this time, as always happens, as “Netanyahu, who describes himself as an expert on US affairs, believes that American support is a given.” According to “Time”.
“Very bad bet”
Although the position of President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris began to shift recently, and they stated that the Israeli military response to the Hamas attack on October 7 was exaggerated and that the Hebrew state was bombing Gaza indiscriminately and killed many civilians, Netanyahu still… Continuing his approach, it seems that he is gambling on Donald Trump’s return to the White House by winning the presidential elections next November, according to “Time.”
The magazine says, “Netanyahu and the right-wing extremists in his government who want to annex the West Bank, and now want to rebuild Jewish settlements in Gaza, believe that if Trump returns to the White House, he will once again allow Israel to do whatever it wants.” In their view, if Republicans can take over the Senate and keep the House, Israel will have already achieved that.”
But the magazine believes that “this is a very bad bet” because “Trump cannot be relied upon to adhere to any position he expresses at the present time, in addition to that he holds a grudge against Netanyahu for congratulating Biden on his victory in the elections in 2020, in addition to the fact that he originally asked the Prime Minister “The Israelis end this war quickly and focus on peace.”
Former US President, and the expected Republican nominee for the upcoming presidential elections, Donald Trump, called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to quickly end the war in Gaza.
She says, “Netanyahu believes that he will appear strong in the eyes of his political base if he challenges American presidents and other foreign critics, and he and his closest officials strengthen relations with Republicans, especially hawkish conservatives who admire what the small Jewish state can achieve in a region with an overwhelming Muslim majority.”
The magazine attributes the alliance between a great power and a small country in a distant strategic region to factors such as “shared democratic values, the importance of the American Jewish community, the strong connection of evangelicals to the Holy Land, and memories of the Holocaust.”
But she believes that this alliance “is not a natural matter that can be taken for granted, as over time and changes in American demographics it could lead to the erosion of support for Israel.”
She asserts that Netanyahu’s insensitivity to his practices has led to a decline in support among progressive Americans, in addition to the fact that leftists have begun to position Zionism as one of the things that deserves condemnation, noting that this appears clear through the current intense protests on American universities against the war in Gaza.
But at the same time, “Israel still enjoys broad support in the United States, although this support has been continually eroded by the behavior of Netanyahu and hard-liners in his government.”
“six months”
The magazine quotes former Israeli ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon: “It seems that American officials speak politely but firmly with their counterparts, but the Israelis pretend that they do not understand what is being said to them.”
Therefore, Biden’s decision to abstain from voting at the United Nations, instead of protecting Israel, as usual, by using his veto power, was a message to Netanyahu that he had had enough.”
The newspaper indicates that Netanyahu believes that he can respond through his decision to cancel the Israeli delegation’s visit and his confirmation of his intention to storm Rafah and endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, but the truth is that Israel cannot afford to endanger the American aid that is already flowing.
In addition to $3.8 billion in annual direct military aid, the United States has sent more than 400 transport aircraft and 30 ships carrying 20,000 tons of ammunition, missiles, and other essential military equipment to help Israel continue the Gaza war. The United States is the main arms supplier and protector. to the Hebrew state.
The magazine quotes a former Israeli military commander who said, “Without this resupply, the Israeli army will not be able to continue fighting for more than another six months.”
Last updated: March 27, 2024 – 19:35
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2024-03-30 02:43:26