U.S. President Joe Biden is harming Israel’s efforts to demilitarize the Gaza Strip by demanding that Jerusalem scale back its military offensive against the Hamas terror organization, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told Channel 12 on Monday.
Biden is “to some extent hampering the war effort by this desire to force Israel to engage in I think what he refers to as ‘low-intensity combat’… That’s sort of the kind of messaging that America has been giving Israel,” Friedman said in an interview with Channel 12‘s Yonit Levi.
“I think he has really made some inappropriate comments. He spoke about the indiscriminate bombing that Israel engaged in, which I think is an outright lie. I think that he speaks continuously about this need to impose a two-state solution, which I think is tone-deaf right now,” the former envoy continued.
In an Oct. 12 post on X, Friedman had stated he was “deeply grateful” for Biden’s support in the aftermath of Hamas’s brutal massacre of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in Israel’s northwestern Negev region.
“In Judaism there is an obligation of ‘Hakarat Hatov’—saying thank you to those who perform good deeds. While I have been, and remain, deeply critical of the Biden Administration, the moral, tactical, diplomatic and military support that it has provided Israel over the past few days has been exceptional,” he tweeted at the time.
“I feel less that way now, and I was concerned then that the president’s commitment would fade as Biden tries to balance his various political interests,” Friedman told Channel 12 on Monday.
Friedman served for four years under the Trump administration, which delivered a number of moves hailed by Israel and its supporters, including pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
“All this malign activity goes back to a strong Iran,” Friedman said, in reference to attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah. “When we left office, Iran was weak, if we were still in office, I think Iran would still be weak.
“There were Hamas attacks during the four years that I was ambassador—at no time did the United States put any handcuffs or limitations on Israel’s ability to respond,” he added.
The Biden White House is reportedly exploring the possibility of leveraging arms shipments to Israel to place pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back the war against Hamas and let more humanitarian aid into Gaza, NBC News reported on Sunday.
At the direction of the White House, the U.S. Department of Defense has been examining what weapons Jerusalem has requested that could be used as leverage, current and former officials told the outlet.
Among the weaponry under discussion are 155-mm artillery rounds and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) bomb guidance kits, which enable the Israel Defense Forces to accurately target terrorist operatives and avoid unnecessary civilian casualties in Gaza, NBC added.
John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the U.S. National Security Council, appeared to deny the report later on Sunday, telling reporters, “There has not been a change in our policy.”
On Jan. 8, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told The New York Times that Israel had shifted to a new and less intense phase of its war against Hamas, giving in to repeated demands from Washington. Hagari said that the Israeli offensive had already started the transition to a campaign that would involve fewer ground troops and airstrikes.
Exactly one week later, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called a press conference to signal the impending end to heavy combat in Gaza’s north and south. “The intensive maneuvering phase in the north of the Gaza Strip has ended, and in the south, it will also end soon,” stated Gallant.
4 comments:
There is an overriding desire on the part of the world - Israel is NOT allowed to win a war. Look at the desperation at the UN as Israel ignores demand after demand for unilateral ceasefires to allow Hamas to regroup and rearm. So now they realize Israel won't stop and instead they plan to punish Israel instead - Sure we'll let you clean out Gaza at a terrible cost to you in life, equipment and money. And the next day, we'll undo all of that by giving Hamas its own country which we will permit to attack you while demanding you respect their sovereignty.
If there ever is, c"v, a Palestinian state, I propose that Mr. Ben Gvir run as prime minister. If they don't let him run, take it to international court .
The U.S. thinks it is going to appease Iran through its policies. Instead, Iran is getting more anti-American. The arrogant president thinks he is going to get more votes through his actions. He will have even more problems and if there is an election, he will lose.
In the American Civil war President Lincoln fired General George McClellan when he proved both incompetent and disloyal. In the Korean War, President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur for pressing policies opposed to Truman's own. The lesson to Israel is clear. Cashiering the errand boys of Israel's false friends and replacing them with proponents of victory would be a big morale boost and a blow to defeatism.
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