President Joe Biden's scheduled call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday will not simply test the leaders' increasingly sour relationship.
It will also highlight a glaring contradiction in US policy regarding the war in Gaza, a conflict that potentially poses an existential threat to their political careers.
While Biden expresses growing frustration with the Israeli leader's conduct in the military strike and its impact on civilians — including the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza this week — the foundations of staunch U.S. support for Israel are not changing.
At the same time that the White House is demanding changes to Israeli procedures to protect civilians, warning that a planned attack on Rafah could cause a humanitarian disaster, the administration is moving forward with approving a sale of F-15 warplanes to Israel in the worth US$18 billion, sources told CNN this week.
Biden and Netanyahu's call will also come amid renewed fears in Washington that Israel's actions could trigger the regional conflagration that Biden has desperately sought to avoid. An attack on senior Iranian officials in Syria on Monday, which the US blames on Israel, has sparked calls for retaliation, which could once again put US troops in the region at risk.
The conversation will also take place with both leaders under enormous internal pressure and amid signs that their political priorities are irreconcilable.
Biden urgently needs the war to end to ease the anger among progressives that threatens his weakened political coalition ahead of the November elections. But Netanyahu may need to prolong it to avoid elections that many US leaders believe he would lose. It is not impossible that the crisis ends up removing both from their positions.
A tense scenario for a vital connection
Biden conducts tough calls with world leaders as a matter of course – he spoke to President Xi Jinping, who leads the US's new superpower rival, China, on Tuesday, for example. But Thursday's conversation with Netanyahu feels like a critical moment both for the Middle East and for Biden's presidency itself.
The call is set against the backdrop of US fury over the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli attack on Gaza. The tragedy prompted Biden to say he was “outraged” and, in unusually blunt language, accused Israel of doing too little to protect civilians and aid workers in the devastated enclave.
See also: images of the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
