Such a speech would begin by making clear that if the U.S.-Israel alliance is under strain today, it is because Israel has become a fundamentally unstable partner under Netanyahu. He made a failed judicial coup, not a deal with Iran or the Palestinians, his top priority in his first year in office. It divided Israeli society, distracted the military, and perhaps made Hamas think it was time to attack.
This unusual shift to the right in Israel, combined with a no-win strategy in Gaza, has led to, as Harel writes, “Netanyahu, for almost a decade, deliberately exhausted and weakened the civil service and relocated the center.” combined with the fact that The concentration of power from the gatekeepers of the judicial, financial, and defense institutions to a small group of “incompetent cronies” undermines not only Israeli interests but also American interests.
First, America’s most advanced and important military partner in the region is now stuck in a quagmire in Gaza, with no way out and straining America’s weapons stockpile, which Ukraine also needs. And the endless war in Gaza could also destabilize other US allies, especially Jordan and Egypt.
Furthermore, the United States is seeking to form a new security alliance with Saudi Arabia. This will allow Saudi Arabia to focus on what it wants to focus on most right now, without fear of attack from Iran: economic development. To help sell the deal to the U.S. Congress, Saudi Arabia offered to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel if it established a reformed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and began the path to a Palestinian state. agreed to become Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected those terms, and the entire deal is now up in the air.
Finally, as much damage as Hamas has inflicted on Israel, Israel’s real existential threat comes from Iran and its network of allies: Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, and Iraqi Shiite militias. On April 13, the United States, in an alliance with moderate Arab states, Britain, and France, shot down virtually all 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran toward Israel that night. The longer Israel remains mired in Gaza and civilian deaths continue, the harder it will be for moderate Arab states, especially Jordan, to be seen as defending Israel from Iran.
There is no doubt that Israel, the lives of Palestinians, and the Middle East will be better off if Hamas is completely defeated. And if that requires Israel to enter Rafah, so be it. Hamas brought this war on. Not only Israelis, but many Palestinians in Gaza will feel liberated by that defeat. But only if Israel works with non-Hamas Palestinians to build a better Gaza and create the possibility of a new dawn for Palestinians and Israelis. Mr. Biden is justified in using U.S. influence to insist that Israel act with that goal in mind—because Israel’s prime minister does not.
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