As Israel continues its war to uproot Hamas military capability in Gaza and defend the people of Israel, American support has been rhetorically helpful – the UN vetoes were excellent – but the Biden administration has been working to balance two diametrically opposing positions: agreement with Israel that Hamas is a terror organization and should be militarily defeated; and an unwillingness to antagonize Iran.
The result is that Washington has been pressuring Israel to fight the war according to American dictates and American restrictions. The US has also made clear the American expectations for “the day after” the war – including a “two-state solution” with an independent Palestine – without a clear sense of how or when the war will end. Most recently, the administration has applied certain low-level sanctions and warnings against individual Israelis and Israeli policy – with the clear implication that those minimal political sanctions can be ratcheted up and/or applied to Israeli government officials.
The pressure is increasing.
JPC Senior Director Shoshana Bryen appeared on the Jewish News Syndicate podcast Top Story with JNS Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Tobin to discuss Biden administration determination to control the conduct of Israel’s war and the larger, regional implications of its policy toward Iran and its proxies.
