Massed Israeli tanks and APC's near the border with Gaza. BBC/EPA.
Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is willing to stand alone after Joe Biden has threatened to cut off weapons for Israel's upcoming Rafah offensive. BBC. Netanyahu said they would keep up the fight with or without US weapons, saying they would use their "fingernails" if forced to. He also cited the Israeli war of independence which they won despite an arms embargo. The comments show how committed Israel is to winning the war. Biden has been critical of an offensive in Rafah despite the city being the heart of Hamas. Biden also claimed that US-supplied bombs have been used against civilians.
My Comment:
As expected, Joe Biden has no influence over Israel and their policy. He wasn't able to stop their strike against Iran's embassy in Syria, he wasn't able to stop their strike against Iran proper and he wasn't able to stop the invasion of Rafah. Biden couldn't hold back his contempt of Benjamin Netanyahu and he pissed away the relationship America had with Israel.
Not that preventing Israel from invading Rafah is a coherent policy in the first place. I don't see how you can support the war against Hamas and then think that you can't attack their headquarters for some reason. Taking the city is necessary because if the city isn't taken and the ware ends, Hamas will be able regroup, rearm and then stage another October 7th style terror attack. To hold back now would make the whole war meaningless.
The move has obviously been done to try and quell criticism from the far left who support Hamas and are threatening to stay home in 2024. What is hilarious about that is that Biden won't get those voters in the first place, they hate him for the aid he has given Israel in the first place, cutting off some weapons is not going to change that. The smart move would be the jettison these voters as they aren't going to help you anyways and they are politically homeless.
But this move by Biden will almost certainly cost him a huge number of votes. Those voters might not go to Trump but they are not going to support a President that cut off Israel during the most important war Israel has been in for a long time. I can't believe that most Jewish voters, other than the far left nutjobs, are going to continue to support Biden.
As for Israel, I think they will be fine on their own. They have a lot of weapons left and they should be able to destroy Hamas in Rafah without US support. US aid has not been critical and they have their own weapons production capabilities. And they can always buy weapons from other countries if it comes down to it. I know Russia has been critical of Israel lately but I am sure Putin is wise enough to realize that stepping up to supply Israel with weapons would both gain them an ally and hurt the United States in the region. Same with China or more neutral countries like India.
With Biden though, he can't stop stepping on his own foot. This move is going to make a lot of very powerful people very angry with him and it's at a time where he can't afford to lose any voters. Recent polling shows Trump up in most traditional swing states and even in reach in solid blue states like Minnesota, New York and Washington state. I really don't understand what Biden is even doing, he's trying to please everyone but is instead making everyone mad at him.
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