The first result of Biden’s exit was that while CIA chief William Burns returned to Washington, Hamas declared that there are no more negotiations for the abductees and the delegations left Cairo. Hamas celebrates, Israel is disarmed, he thought, anti-Semitism runs amok, perhaps today the UN unilaterally declares the State of Palestine and makes Sinwar the Ben Gurion of the Palestinians. The president will not give Israel precision bombs for use in Rafah. Why? To defend civilians. Contradictory decision and lacking in moral clarity, a form of injunction unacceptable to a sovereign state at war after the horrors of October 7th.
A deep entrance, for now there is none. Until a few hours earlier, Israel had gone just beyond the border, on the Philadelphia corridor, essential to prevent trade from Hamas terrorists, and hit some specific targets. Despite the shock caused by his announcement on CNN, if Biden thought he was stopping Israel, something didn’t go according to plan. Netanyahu holds the helm, the echo coming from the War Cabinet brings no trace of rupture or steps backwards. No one will leave the field because of the American threat, the president has ignored the most basic Israeli logic in these times of war, which has overestimated political division in the face of patriotism. Prohibiting Rafah, where Israel is convinced it will find the kidnapped people, is an American twist against logic and loyalty, it is clear that it is essential to defeat the four remaining battalions to beat Hamas. Sinwar attacked Israel with bullets and bombs from Rafah, then targeted Sderot and the October 7 kibbutzim. So he rejected the “incredibly generous” offer for the hostages and made a ridiculous one. Meanwhile, Israel has reopened the Shalom crossing for aid, accepted new talks, kept the army out of the town of Rafah, and evicted 150 thousand people. Biden spoke about the civilians affected. But the numbers turned out to be inflated and it is Hamas that is in the tunnels while using human shields.
Netanyahu had already declared on Monday that “if Israel has to do it alone, it will do so”, and reposted the same sentence: “No international pressure will prevent Israel from defending itself. We have the means.” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declares: “To our enemies and our best friends, Israel cannot be subjugated.” Even Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot certainly have no intention of breaking up the unit while fighting. Israel will probably do its best not to cross red lines, but the compass points to the annihilation of Hamas, especially now that, self-confident, Sinwar is holding onto the abductees.
Biden’s decision has no chance of stopping the war, Israel produces most of the necessary weapons. In the US, there is opposition to Biden’s decision that includes conservatives and some of his followers. Furthermore, 80% of Americans support Israel, despite universities being invaded by woke-propalers in a mix of leftists and radical Islamists. Biden’s decision emboldens the West’s enemies. Israel is fighting a war of survival that Biden has always declared necessary. His stance is a signal for Iran and Russia as well as Hezbollah and Hamas.
The signal will reach all of NATO: when you abandon the old friend with whom you share a choice of democracy and human rights, every security alliance becomes a joke.
