On one condition: Washington may support Israeli operation in Rafah
Over the past weeks, the United States has been stressing that it opposes any invasion or invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, because of the dangers it poses to the lives of thousands of displaced Palestinians crowded there.
However, senior American officials informed their Israeli counterparts that the administration of US President Joe Biden may support a limited operation, and will support Israel in pursuing senior Hamas leaders hiding in Rafah or inside its underground tunnels.
Four American officials explained that senior administration officials indicated in private conversations with Israel that they might support a specific plan in Rafah that would be closer to counter-terrorism operations than to an all-out war, according to a Politico report.
They saw that this type of operation reduces civilian casualties, and at the same time eliminates important and high-ranking targets in Hamas, and at the same time reduces the bloody scenes that led to public opinion tension and criticism of the Israeli attacks on the besieged Palestinian Strip, and Biden’s handling of it.
No escape
This came as two Israeli officials explained that the army is still studying proposals and plans to ensure the safety of 1.3 million Palestinians in and around the city, many of whom fled there to avoid the war.
However, a third Israeli official, who also requested to remain anonymous, stressed that ultimately, it is inevitable that Israeli forces will launch an operation of some kind in Rafah. He said, “Ultimately, we cannot win this war without defeating the Hamas brigades in Rafah.”
This information also came after informed sources reported that Biden may consider imposing conditions on some future military aid to Israel if it launches a major campaign in Rafah, although National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later clarified that these and other similar reports are merely “speculation.”
Two options, the best of which was bitter
The Biden administration, seeking a second term in the White House, and whose unconditional support for Israel sparked discontent among young people in the Democratic Party, which was reflected in the support rates during opinion polls, found itself between two options, the best of which was bitter.
It is struggling between the type of Israeli military operation it can accept in Rafah, and the “red line” that Biden spoke about last weekend.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues a pressure campaign to convince the Americans of his positions and approaches. In a speech he delivered via video to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel group in Washington, he strongly defended Tel Aviv’s position, stressing that it had done everything in its power to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
He also considered that allies and friends cannot say that they support Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas, and then oppose its measures to achieve this goal, in an implicit reference to the invasion of Rafah.
