President Joe Biden's foreign policy-focused interview with TIME was a mess on multiple levels, but the president's comments on Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were especially egregious and hypocritical.
Despite stating that Hamas is to blame for starting the current war in Gaza with its barbaric massacre on October 7, Biden quickly showed his usual cowardice when discussing how Israel is prosecuting the war started by Hamas in his ongoing transparently political ploy to appease radical pro-Hamas voters.
When asked whether Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza, the best Biden could muster was "it's uncertain," despite conclusions by the United States government, Israel's government, and independent observers of the war that Israel is not in breach of international law or its own stringent rules of engagement.
“[A] lot of innocent people have been killed," Biden added, whistling past the fact that the IDF has managed to wage an urban war against a terrorist enemy that intentionally hides behind schools, mosques, and hospitals with a better combatant-to-civilian casualty ratio than the U.S. coalition had in Mosul.
The expert manner in which Israel has responded to Hamas and other Iran-backed proxies' assault is ignored by Biden due to his desire to remain in power and outrage from his party's "progressive" flank that demands a ceasefire. Such an end to hostilities before the military threat posed by Hamas is eliminated, however, means that Hamas survives to fight in the future with the stated goal of repeating the horror of October 7 over and over.
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When asked about other consequences in Gaza, Biden said that Israel is not "intentionally" starving residents of the enclave — a true statement — but couldn't help himself from saying he thinks it has "engaged in activity that is inappropriate." He must have forgotten to mention repeated Hamas attacks on entry points for aid in Gaza, such as the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
In reality, Israel has done a better job than the United States — or its boondoggle of a "humanitarian pier" — at getting aid into Gaza.
Biden continued his rhetorical attack on Israel saying he believes Israel is making a "mistake" in its fight to eliminate Hamas and stating observers have "every reason" to think Netanyahu is prolonging the war for political reasons. If the war is being prolonged, it's because the United States has attempted to hamstring Israel for the sake of Biden's 2024 chances.
Biden has demanded a ceasefire that would allow Hamas to survive and repeatedly told Israel it could not move on the last Hamas stronghold of Rafah without jeopardizing its relationship with the U.S. He has withheld congressionally appropriated military aid Israel needs to conduct its surgical strikes on Hamas terrorists and infrastructure. He even suggested Israel not respond to Iran's unprecedented direct attack on the Jewish state.
If, as Biden should have done, the United States had said to Israel, 'We have your back, go end Hamas, let us know how we can help,' Israel's aims could likely have been accomplished more quickly. Instead, because Biden is worried about Michigan Democrats, he's slowed Israel down.
As usual, Biden also used the TIME interview to insist on a "two-state solution," calling his difference on the subject with Netanyahu a "major disagreement."
"I think there is a clear path for a transition where the Arab states would provide security and reconstruction in Gaza in return for a longer-term commitment to a transition to a two-state solution,” Biden said, throwing out states such as Jordan and Egypt. That, too, is just more ignorance of reality from the president.
First, no one actually wants to deal with Gaza. Egypt doesn't, Lebanon can't, Jordan doesn't, and even the Palestinian Authority doesn't want to be responsible for the Hamas-ridden enclave. They all, like Biden, criticize Israel but refuse to deal with Gaza and the threats that lie within.
What's more, the "government" of a second state next to Israel would be led by whom, exactly? Hamas terrorists who previously ran Gaza? Hezbollah terrorists? Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists? None of these "Palestinians" even want a "two-state solution" because they believe there should only be one state once they eliminate Israel and massacre the Jews.
Biden, as with most foreign issues, is wrong about Israel, refusing to correct course, and ultimately making it more difficult for Israel to complete its righteous campaign against Hamas terrorists.
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