From Osama Al-Sharif
Israel’s plan to launch a ground offensive into the heavily populated enclave of Rafah, nestled close to the Egyptian border in the Gaza Strip, could bring relations between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a tipping point. Netanyahu has angered the White House by ignoring US warnings regarding the planned incursion into Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge and are living under horrendous conditions.
Already, Biden has changed his tone on Israel’s four-month war on Gaza by calling the Israeli response “over the top,” in reference to the killing of more than 28,000 Palestinians so far and the vast destruction of at least 60 percent of civilian infrastructure, rendering more than 1.8 million people homeless and displaced. Privately, Biden is reported to have used foul language to describe Netanyahu’s rebuff of US attempts to conclude a negotiated, lengthy truce coupled with the release of captives. Instead, Netanyahu rejected what he called Hamas’ “delusional demands,” which included a conditional ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and vowed to push into Rafah to secure a decisive victory. Israel’s announcement that it plans to launch a ground operation in Rafah has been rejected by the EU, the UK and the UN, as well as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. All have warned that such an incursion will result in a horrific human toll. Rafah has become a tent city, where tens of thousands of Gazans have fled from Gaza City, Jabalia, Bureij and other refugee camps, as well as Khan Younis, where Israel has said it dismantled Hamas’ main operational headquarters and killed thousands of its fighters. It now says it needs to enter and clear Rafah of the last four battalions belonging to Hamas. It also believes most of the Israeli captives are being held there.
In response to the fact that Rafah is now home to over a million Gazans, Netanyahu has ordered his army to prepare an evacuation plan, without offering much detail. He suggested that Rafah residents head to the northern part of the Strip, but the UN and other aid agencies warned that much of the north has become a wasteland with no access to humanitarian aid. The logistics of moving such vast numbers of civilians, already suffering from malnutrition and disease, debunks Netanyahu’s suggestion that his army has the safety of civilians as a priority. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military as they fled to so-called safe areas in the recent past. But it is not only the fear of a bloodbath straining Biden’s relationship with Netanyahu. To balance his unequivocal support of Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Biden has promised to open a clear path toward the fulfillment of a two-state solution, i.e., the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has flatly rejected Biden’s premise and vowed that Israel will have absolute control over all the territories west of the River Jordan.
Added to this, he has also brushed off Biden’s suggestion that Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state and that the Palestinian Authority must take over once Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu has affirmed that Israel will have complete and indefinite security control over Gaza. His far-right coalition government has also been carrying out security operations in the West Bank, killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians and destroying infrastructure and allowing Jewish settlers to go on the rampage, terrorizing Arab residents. Extremist ministers in his Cabinet have been taking steps to weaken and defund the PA. At the same time, Netanyahu himself has said that he will not repeat the historical mistake of Oslo that created the PA.
Biden faces pressure from America’s Arab allies. For Egypt, a Rafah offensive will almost certainly push tens of thousands of fleeing Palestinians across the border and into Sinai. So worried is Cairo that it has deployed tanks and air defense systems close to the border. Egypt has also told Israel that it taking control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor will not be tolerated. Its most recent warning to Israel hinted that any breach could lead to the suspension of the peace treaty between the two. The Biden administration had hoped to entice Netanyahu by reviving normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But Riyadh dampened Washington’s hopes by stressing that Israel must first end the war in Gaza and commit to a clear path toward a Palestinian state before such talks can commence.
America’s Arab allies now believe that the Biden administration has no leverage over Netanyahu, whose defiance has humiliated and frustrated the US administration. –FP
