{"id":6897,"date":"2024-03-27T15:31:18","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T19:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=6897"},"modified":"2024-03-27T17:04:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T21:04:29","slug":"biden-and-gaza-ceasefire-where-do-things-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/biden-and-gaza-ceasefire-where-do-things-stand\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden and Gaza ceasefire: Where do things stand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Biden administration has been sending mixed messages over its support for a ceasefire on Gaza, amid growing calls from progressives and Arab and Muslim communities to end the conflict.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday, the United States abstained on a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, allowing the motion to be adopted in a 14-0 vote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the administration was quick to call the measure “non-binding” in a novel interpretation of the UN Security Council’s powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, while addressing the council about the vote, US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield squarely blamed Hamas for the war and absolved Israel of all responsibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While rights groups and humanitarian advocates praised the resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed fury at Washington for letting it pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Regrettably, the United States did not veto the new resolution, which calls for a ceasefire that is not contingent on the release of hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “This constitutes a clear departure from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Ceasefire or pause?<\/b><\/p>\n

But Washington has insisted that any ceasefire must be reached through talks leading to the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza, dismissing a possible UN role in imposing an end to the war.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We have always believed that the path to a ceasefire and the release of hostages is something that will be reached through negotiations between Israel and Hamas, enabled by third-party countries and in which the United States is participating, and not through a UN process. And that remains our belief,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, the Biden administration insists that any future settlement must see the dismantlement of Hamas, which the Israelis say would require more fighting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington’s position is made even murkier by the conflicting statements from US officials about the duration of the ceasefire they are seeking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Palestinian rights advocates have called for a permanent ceasefire, Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris regularly say that they want a ceasefire “for at least six weeks.”<\/span><\/p>\n

But when Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Middle East earlier this month, the US administration said in a statement that he discussed efforts to ensure an “enduring end” to the war with Saudi Arabian officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

The possible deal<\/b><\/p>\n

Talks involving the United States, Israel, Egypt and Qatar – and Hamas indirectly – have been ongoing for weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A US-approved framework would see Hamas and other Palestinian groups release all Israelis in their custody in exchange for a six-week pause in the fighting, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Hamas has insisted that it will not agree to a deal that does not end the war altogether and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to the north of the enclave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, Palestinians have refused to negotiate over the Israeli-manufactured humanitarian crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden himself has said that Israel should not use the aid as a bargaining chip, but the US proposal treats increasing assistance to Gaza as part of a negotiable deal, not as an unconditional moral and legal obligation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israeli blockade has starved thousands in Gaza as the war has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in what many legal scholars are calling a genocide.<\/span><\/p>\n

US positions<\/b><\/p>\n

So the US says it wants a ceasefire but it is not sure for how long. It also wants to eliminate Hamas while encouraging Hamas to participate in talks to release Israeli captives before it is eliminated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington also simultaneously allowed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire to then downplay it as irrelevant to the talks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Biden administration says aid to Gaza should be increased while negotiating over it as part of a captives deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

These seeming contradictions could be explained by the fact that Biden is facing increasing pressure over his positions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The uncommitted vote across the country – and especially in Michigan with the voting power of Arab and Yemeni Americans and allied communities – has sent an unmistakable message to the White House: Continued unwavering support to Israel may cost Biden the election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Congress, where pro-Israel groups like AIPAC have enormous influence, remains overwhelmingly supportive of Israel’s war efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the Security Council resolution, Congress members – including many Democrats – rushed to criticize the administration for refusing to veto the motion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s appalling the US allowed passage of a resolution that fails to condemn Hamas,” staunchly pro-Israel Senator John Fetterman wrote in a social media post.<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, there has been no meaningful change in US policy as American weapons and taxpayer money continue to fuel Israel’s war on Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Biden approved a budget bill this month that banned funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and signed off Israel’s yearly $3.8 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, the administration appears to be aware of the political and geopolitical perils of the war and is trying to bring it to an end – or at least a pause – on terms that do not upset Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

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