WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden effectively gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum on Thursday (April 4): protect Palestinian civilians and foreign aid workers in Gaza or Washington could curb support for Israel in its war against Hamas militants.
The message comes after months of US calls for Israel to change its military tactics that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, following an Israeli attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers and sparked global outrage.
Israel admits the attack was a mistake.
The White House did not say exactly what steps Netanyahu intended to take, or what it would do if Netanyahu failed to take those steps. But analysts say the implied threat is to slow US arms transfers to Israel or weaken US support at the UN.
“This is almost a ‘come to Jesus’ moment,” said analyst Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, referring to Biden’s comments last month that he and Netanyahu were heading for such a turning point.
Dennis Ross, a veteran US diplomat who now works at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said: “The president, in fact, said to meet these humanitarian needs or I have no choice but to provide (military) assistance.”
Biden, who is up for re-election in November, has struggled to balance pressure to rein in Netanyahu from progressive Democrats disillusioned by the toll of Palestinian civilian lives and the risk that he might alienate most independent, pro-Israel voters. So far he has refused to set conditions regarding arms transfers.
The war began after an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally, triggering an Israeli invasion that has destroyed much of the densely populated region and displaced most of its 2.3 million residents.
More than 33,000 Palestinians have died, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, the majority of whom are women and children. Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Describing their call, the White House said Biden called on Israel to announce specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.
In a tense 30-minute conversation with Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden “made clear that US policy regarding Gaza” would be determined based on the steps taken by Israel, according to a White House statement.
“He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate response to these steps,” the White House added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was more outspoken.
“Look, I’ll just say this: if we don’t see the changes we need to see, then there will be changes in our policies.”
On Thursday evening, just hours after the phone call, the Israeli government announced several steps to increase aid flows to Gaza, including opening the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing into northern Gaza and increasing aid deliveries from Jordan. It is unclear whether such steps will be enough to meet US demands.
TURNING POINT
The turning point for Biden, a staunch supporter of Israel, was Israel’s deadly attack on Monday on workers from celebrity chef Jose Andres’ WCK charity group.
“What happened with World Central Kitchen, that event was certainly the catalyst for today’s call,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN Thursday evening.
Earlier this week, the WCK convoy was repeatedly attacked by Israeli troops even though it had cleared the route with the military. Two United States-Canadian citizens were among those killed in the attack, which Israel called a mistake.
“Biden’s dismay has grown over recent weeks and months over the dangers to the civilian population in Gaza and to aid workers,” Kirby said.
Earlier in the day Kirby would not confirm that a cut in military aid was on the table, but did give Israel little room for maneuver, and warned that the United States would like to see action in the “coming hours and days.”
