Shortly after a call with President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected international pressure on how Tel Aviv handles the war in Gaza. The US provides Israel with billions in military aid every year. Biden has said he has pressured Israel to accept a Palestinian state after the war and to reduce the killing of civilians in Gaza. Yet, the White House has refused to place any conditions on the weapons it sends to Tel Aviv.
On Thursday, Biden held a 40-minute phone with Netanyahu. According to a White House press release, Biden reaffirmed America’s commitment to helping Israel rescue hostages. Netanyahu has vetoed any negotiations with Hamas and is committed to freeing the hostages through military operations.
Additionally, Biden requested that the military operation against Rafah should not begin until Tel Aviv has a plan for where the 1.5 million civilians in the city should go. Netanyahu claims Israel’s military must crush the city to eliminate Hamas. However, Israeli military officials have concluded that Hamas will survive the war.
Several international rights organizations have warned that an Israeli attack on Rafah will cause the mass death of Palestinians. More than 1 million Palestinians displaced from other areas of Gaza are living in tents on the streets in the city.
Netanyahu rejected any pressure from the US in a post on X. “Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.” The post continues, “Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement.”
The White House has made several requests from Tel Aviv throughout the four-month war in Gaza. While the US sends Israel $3.8 billion in military aid every year, Biden has refused to use those weapons as leverage to get Israel to meet US demands.
Additionally, the unfettered military support for Tel Aviv could make Washington an accomplice to Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Israel has killed over 28,000 people, including 12,000 children, in Gaza. Tel Aviv’s military has systematically destroyed Gaza’s health care system and prevented US-funded food from reaching starving Palestinians. The International Court of Justice ruled last month that Israel was plausibly committing a genocide in Gaza.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
“Israel outright rejects international dictates…” Netanyahou
But its ok to use American taxpayer dollars to support their barbaric slaughter. And Biden, desparate for campaign contributions (as is the whole Congress), doesn’t have the spine to shut him down. What a hopeless mess the “indispensable nation” has become.
This is crucial to understand: Contributions from the Israel lobby are important to American politicians, but they are not nearly the most important tool the lobby has and routinely uses. The most important tool is the lobby’s ability and willingness to derail almost any candidacy and destroy almost any political career, simply by labeling a politician as unfriendly to, or an enemy of, Israel — and supporting and promoting opponents, of course.
The Israel lobby in the US is engaged in a reign of political terror. And it works.
What is needed is an organized effort to destroy the Israel Lobby in the US. I don’t know how to do that, but I see it must be done.
Along the way, we need to clean up American politics, so it is not donor-controlled as it is today. We need a return to government by voters, rather than by advertising dollars.
The Israeli government cannot afford AIPAC on its own… Cut the annual aid to Israel and their lobby would go broke…!
That’s not how it works, Net, AIPac is a pro-Israel lobbying group. Through a variety of means it ‘influences’ US executive and legislative policies in Israel’s interests. Without AIPAC, and other similar groups that form the Israel Lobby, Israel wouldn’t be getting the amount and level of aid and support it does from the US. AIPAC is believed to be the most powerful lobbying group in the US. It is all legal, how our government works, and for some and not others 🙂
You’re assuming the AIPAC follows all the US laws about lobbying legally and that’s not the case…!
Remember CIA Pompeo saying we lied, we cheated, we stole…!? That is also true on domestic politics…!
What I know is corruption is both hard and soft; hard is illegal, soft is legal ingenuity. Don’t get distracted by today’s popular boogeyman, AIPAC is a symptom of America’s problems not it’s root. Attack the roots, the weeds are a waste of time, they just grow back.
The way to start is by legislatively undoing Citizens United, but then you probably noticed since the DNC went full bore neocon-neoliberals it no longer opposes Citizens United, the progressives do and look what happened to The Squad 🙂 Another challenge is part of the Israel Lobby is made up of American Zionists.
I’d suggest it’s not so much the contributions as it is staying on the “Israel” side of Aipac. The released their endorsements and “vulnerables” in March, last year. Thoughtful don’t you think, giving them time to right themselves in Israel’s interests 🙂
Right, not getting opposed in the primary by dark Zionist money and horrendous & deceitful ad campaigns.
That is a major concern.
If the anti-Zionist caucus picks up expect dirtier tricks up to and including plane crashes.
The Company is run by Zionists now.
So, don’t you want to understand? If you do, you should consider doing some reading:
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/israel-lobby-and-us-foreign-policy
And of course it’s not ok and we need a movement to end all US support for Israel’s war crimes!
• Biden requested … that’s the Problem.
• Israeli military officials concluded Hamas will survive the war …. ah, duh. In a couple years they’ll conclude Hamas’s 2x the size it was b4 the war.
Biden begs
Bibi bares butt 2 Biden
Biden boosters bite a big bunch of bullshit but boast bout beef brisket.
Bloody Biden bozos buy bullshit, belch burp & bellow “mazel tov!” :[ Koncurrently Klaiming Kompassion & Koncern 4 Kollateral Kiddie Kasualties ]:-[>
Biden’s team has no slightest intention of stopping Israel. This is all show to try to keep votes in places like Michigan, which Genocide Joe will lose if he can’t sell a new batch of lies and smoke.
Yup he’s TRYING to blow smoke up their asses, 4 sure.
Meanwhile he’s blowing their relatives up, back in the old country.
But GJ’s BS 8n’t foolin ’em in MI,
He’s lookin’ so tired, like he needs a long rest. I wish him a grand ex-presidency.
Here are the lyrics to my new song:
Stuck in the Mire with Joe
[sung as a kind of cynical, but sultry and slightly swingin jazz/R&B torch song to the befuddled tragedy that is Joe Biden and the Blackhearts.
Biden, you need some new tires.
You’re stuck in the mire
And it’s getting so deep!
Biden you’re looking so tired.
You need to retire
You can get you some sleep!
[last verse sung in harmony with the jazz orchestra’s slightly discordant bluesy crescendo]
Biden! You’re gonna get fired!
We’re all really tired
of you Zionist creeps.
The well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory influences no one. Biden is an INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT! He should be immediately removed from power. We need to find out who has been puppeteering the marionette.
Who pulls the strings on these puppets? The bankers, multinational corporation, AIPAC, superPACS, the MIC…
Looks like they’ve all got strings attached, even the stupid peoples’ hero Chump.
“He should be immediately removed from power.”
That’s what Harris is for, even of she can spell “potato.”
Remove Biden and replace with Kamala Harris. That would be interesting. A young intelligent Harris versus the old nut job Trump, would be an interesting election.
Harris isn’t particularly young (59), and has likely never been very intelligent (her IQ might be higher than her age at this point, but I wouldn’t bet money on it).
Kamala (whom I’ve watched for a long time) is reasonably bright, but her relentless opportunism has propelled her way out of her element. She’s never been smart enough to know when to stop. And San Francisco’s Burton-Brown machine almost never stops promoting one of its own, no matter what a bad idea the promoting may become.
Kamala has worse approval ratings than Biden. If the Dems were going to dump Joe, even they aren’t dumb enough to go with Harris.
Impeach Biden.
Dump Biden
Jail Trump
Hit the reset button!
More bullshit cover for Biden. Better said:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/02/16/dodging-bidens-moral-collapse-is-no-way-to-defeat-trump/
He is a completely useless President. Inflation has gone through roof. He pushed Ukraine into an unmanageable conflict with Russia and now Israel gets weapons for what appears to be genocide. Before that Hamas likely felt with Biden in charge, why not attack? Biden inspires fear in no one. He can’t even read the teleprompter. Did he ever remember the name of the school for his deceased son’s rosary? Does he know where Mexico is located? This is amateur hour at best for most of administration. It’s seniors nap time for Biden. Atrocious. DNC picked worst possible replacement for Trump.
“Hamas likely felt with Biden in charge, why not attack?”
1/ Yr ignorant – unconditional support for Israel is historically bipartisan:
“Biden inspires fear in no one”? That would be Israel – which has been 100% correct in its view that it can continue to do anything w/o jeopardizing US unconditional support.
In the unlikely event that – per your unsupported and therefore worthless assertion – Hamas’ long-in-the-planning attack factored in the US presidency, it would have “likely felt” Israel would get unconditional support either way.
2/ Now, in future, Israel and Palestine may both think about USA differently – due to long-term falling support for the apartheid and, now, genocidal state of Israel – among young American Jews, as well as young voters generally:
“Birthright Trips, a Rite of Passage for Many Jews,,,Now a Target of Protests” [by young American Jews] (NYT)
They’re all spineless.
Hey Nuttyahoo- you want to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing? No weapons or money for you. Go F yourself.
Oh no. You’ll get AIPAC and company to shut a politician down? Wouldn’t it be better to lose an election campaign than “win” one and be complicit in murder?
I think it was more a “kiss my butt” on Bibi’s part, with Biden obligin’ };-)>
This is Joe’s genocide now.
Dump Biden
Jail him & Trump
Reset for the People!
The delusional Trump will go to jail because he has to come up with $440 million or get a bond for the three civil judgments he lost in 30 days . He doesn’t have that kind of cash money in his accounts… The crook he is, he would most likely tap into his campaign funds to post for the law suits while he is appealing them. He would most likely lose the appeals and end up dry of campaign funds…! End of run…!
The genocide Biden will be axed at the election if not thrown out sooner and hopefully get charged with war crimes and joins the cell mate T…!
“The delusional Trump will go to jail because he has to come up with $440
million or get a bond for the three civil judgments he lost in 30 days.”
Not sure how it works where you live but, in the US, people haven’t been jailed for failure to pay civil judgments for a very long time.
Not to worry because he has done numerous jail-driven crimes which eventually lead him to become the cell mate of Genocide Joe…!
“Additionally, Biden requested that the military operation against Rafah should not begin until”…
…after the American elections.
wow every single one of us is an idiot
prove me wrong!
Given the idiots that rule us have delivered $35T of debt, $128T in unfunded liabilities, debt-to-GDP at 120% while our infrastructure is falling down, borders are open, metro streets are sewers and they continue borrowing to fund the unwinnable Ukraine war & the Israeli genocide and we’re not en masse on the streets with pitchforks I wouldn’t even try.
Given the consummate idiots that rule us have delivered $35T of debt, $128T in unfunded liabilities, debt-to-GDP at 120% while our infrastructure is falling down, borders are open, metro streets are sewers, the American Dream is lost to two generations, the ’empire’ is in rapid decline and globally despised and they continue borrowing to fund their unwinnable Ukraine war & Israel’s genocide decidedly escalating towards a regional conflagration and we’re not en masse on the streets with pitchforks who would venture to try?