{"id":1442884,"date":"2023-12-08T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T20:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1442884"},"modified":"2023-12-08T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T20:40:00","slug":"us-israel-rift-over-civilian-casualties-intensifies-as-king-bibi-doubles-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/us-israel-rift-over-civilian-casualties-intensifies-as-king-bibi-doubles-down\/1442884\/","title":{"rendered":"US-Israel Rift Over Civilian Casualties Intensifies As ‘King Bibi’ Doubles Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

US-Israel Rift Over Civilian Casualties Intensifies As ‘King Bibi’ Doubles Down<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

With the 2024 election fast approaching and Democrat support for Israel’s war on Hamas waning, the Biden administration<\/strong> – which is also trying to sell Congress on handing $14.3 billion in aid to Israel – has been ratcheting up pressure <\/strong>on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties<\/strong><\/a>, recognize and work with the Palestinian Authority, resume peace talks, and commit to not reoccupying Gaza.<\/p>\n

The chances of that happening are virtually nil, however, as Netanyahu’s government has made clear that Israel plans to destroy Hamas, retain an open-ended security presence in Gaza<\/strong>, impose a buffer zone to keep Palestinians away from the border, and never recognize the Palestinian Authority.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the clear differences in vision for an endgame to this conflict, Israel knows the Biden administration is nothing more than a paper tiger<\/strong> in a dog mask<\/a>, despite some 16,000 civilians reported dead by Gaza health authorities.<\/p>\n

As the Washington Times<\/em><\/a> notes;<\/p>\n

But as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise<\/strong>, conditions deteriorate, and Biden enters an election year with significant portions of his Democratic base pushing for an end to Israel\u2019s offensive, these differences are likely to grow in the absence of a clear endgame.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Shavit said that tensions could rise if the U.S. at some point concludes that Israel is dragging its feet <\/strong>or ignoring American demands. But for now, \u201cthe Americans want Israel to succeed,\u201d <\/strong>he said.<\/em><\/p>\n

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is president of the U.S.\/Middle East Project, a policy institute that studies the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the Americans are unlikely to put their foot down.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

He cited what he described as a tepid American response to heavy civilian casualties<\/strong> in southern Gaza<\/a> as an indicator of what lies ahead.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIsraelis have a sense that their road to run is not endless, but they still feel they have lots of road to run<\/strong>,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n

As we noted over the weekend, Biden’s Defense Secretary, former Raytheon board member Lloyd Austin warned that Israel needs to be careful about civilian deaths.<\/p>\n

“If you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” he said. “So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel\u2019s leaders that protecting civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative.”<\/p>\n

And on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken <\/strong>issued a stern warning, that “civilian casualties remain too high and that Israel must step up its efforts to reduce them.”<\/p>\n

Blinken has also called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, <\/strong>UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN charger, which allows him to raise to the Security Council’s attention “any issue that may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.”<\/p>\n

The letter to the 15-member council – the seventh in the UN’s 78-year history in which Article 99 has been invoked – urged the body to “press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe,” and unite in a call for a full humanitarian ceasefire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I’ve just invoked Art.99 of the UN Charter – for the 1st time in my tenure as Secretary-General.<\/p>\n

Facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, I urge the Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe & appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared. pic.twitter.com\/pA0eRXZnFJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ant\u00f3nio Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 6, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen flipped out – calling Guiterres’ tenure “a danger to world peace,” and that the call for ceasefire in Gaza amounted to supporting Hamas and their Oct. 7 terrorist attack<\/strong> on Israel.<\/p>\n

Guterres\u2019 tenure is a danger to world peace.
\nHis request to activate Article 99 and the call for a cease fire in Gaza constitutes support of the Hamas terrorist organization and an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the abduction of babies and the rape of women.
\nAnyone who\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 \u05db\u05d4\u05df | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) December 6, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

The Security Council was expected to hold an emergency meeting at 10AM ET on Friday in New York, after the UAE on Thursday submitted a draft resolution calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire<\/strong> which has the support of Arab and Islamic nations.<\/p>\n

The UAE calls for a humanitarian ceasefire resolution to be adopted urgently and has just submitted a draft to the UNSC.<\/p>\n

The situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic and close to irreversible. We cannot wait. The Council needs to act decisively to demand a humanitarian\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/mDr4c2F2FP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 UAE Mission to the UN (@UAEMissionToUN) December 6, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

Is ‘King Bibi<\/a>‘ sacrificing Israel to save his political career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As The Cradle<\/em><\/a> noted on Tuesday, while Netanyahu faces international pressure from both allies and adversaries to rethink his strategy, he’s also trying to tamp down a domestic revolt withing his own Likud party – <\/strong>with reports circulating about deposing him through a Knesset vote of no confidence<\/a>, after which another party member would be selected to lead the government.<\/p>\n

Essentially, Netanyahu’s political survival strategy centers on portraying himself as the lone defender against shallow US rhetoric for a two-state solution. <\/strong>Attempting to sidestep responsibility for the occupation state\u2019s failures, Netanyahu now faces a resurgent Benny Gantz in the opposition. <\/span>Recent Israeli polls<\/span><\/a> predict a significant shift among the wider public, favoring opposition and Arab parties over the current right-wing coalition. <\/span>Per the polling, a new coalition could be expected to win 79 seats, compared to 41 seats for the parties of the current Likud-far-right government.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s precarious political situation has Netanyahu resisting any solution<\/strong>, settlement, or exit that could lead to legal consequences for him. He undermines his party<\/strong> by threatening immediate elections post-war if Likud’s internal machinations against him don’t stop – having already refused to step down from his post.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

More worrisome yet is that despite Israel’s devastating past war experiences in Lebanon, Netanyahu may view a northern war as his only potential escape route<\/strong> – a way to reshuffle his political fortunes to avoid corruption charges and face his military failures. Why not play Russian roulette with Lebanon when the only other option is a long stretch in a prison cell?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the 2024 US election, and then there’s the matter of the $14.3 billion courtesy (though not by choice) of the US taxpayer.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nFri, 12\/08\/2023 – 10:40<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/israel-knows-biden-bluffing-over-civilian-casualty-concerns-king-bibi-doubles-down<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US-Israel Rift Over Civilian Casualties Intensifies As ‘King Bibi’ Doubles Down With the 2024 election fast approaching and Democrat support for Israel’s war on Hamas…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1442884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbimBl-63mk","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1442884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1442884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1442884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1442884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}