Facing Bad Choices in Israel
Terry H. Schwadron
April 8, 2024
Bottom-line, the Israeli government says it is opening another road gateway on the Gaza border to let about 100 trucks a day enter with food and medicine and withdrawing many troops from Southern Gaza, perhaps to rethink an assault on Rafah.
These are real and practical steps, if not enough to forestall starvation and disease hitting two million Palestinians still at war because its ruling terrorist Hamas government still holds dozens of hostages from Israel and 15 other countries. It certainly was an important week in this war.
But it does represent the result of U.S. pressure on Israel — read that as Joe Biden on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and reflects the fact that the Israel-Hamas conflict is not only a regional conflict. It has become a central focus for American foreign policy and that of its European allies and has become a touchstone in the November U.S. election.
As we know, something important broke for U.S. policymakers last week with the apparent attack on three, marked World Central Kitchen vehicles carrying food and seven international aid workers. Even the defiant Netanyahu found himself needing to apologize, fire two military officers for directing the errant drone strikes, and for a continuing campaign that attracts more and more worldwide criticism for including civilians in the broad attack to eliminate Hamas.
The admission of “grave mistakes” that the aid worker strikes were targeted only deepened the U.S. uncertainty about sending more weapons to Israel.
For Jews and non-Jews, Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, each week just brings more heartache about what the Israeli government is trying to do. Evidence of the confusion over mission were reflected in widespread street protests last week inside Israel calling for new elections and the tense, dressing-down conversations between Netanyahu and Biden. Indeed, the issue increasing seems to center on whether starvation of all Palestinians is the intention rather than the consequence of war.
Hamas, Aid, Hostage Problems Linger
The only truths are that whatever gains are being made militarily against Hamas fighters, at least of its four major battalions remain active as fighters and the humanitarian problems among women, children, and civilians have grown to crisis proportions. Military strikes kill people, not ideologies.
It also is true that Hamas leadership, which launched the Oct. 7 attacks that started this mess, refuse to move substantially towards anything resembling a negotiated ceasefire with teeth or towards recognition of Israel’s right to exist. Surrounding Arab and Muslim nations continue to lob verbal attacks but withhold the offer to take in Palestinian civilians themselves.
And the violence on all sides has been spreading with attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israelis, continuing government-sponsored strife against West Bank Palestinians by an empowered and armed Jewish settlement movement, and precision attacks on Iranian Revolutionary Guard leaders inside an Iranian embassy in Damascus. All await Iranian military retribution strikes against Israel in the never-ending cycle of violence.
Visitors to Israel find new reasons to rue the holding of hostage over the last six months and those appalled by humanitarian concerns of Gazan civilians are getting more vocal about changing American foreign policy to sway Israel’s anti-Hamas strategies.
It’s a mess. Of course, that leaves the door open for candidate Donald Trump merely to assert both that none of this would have come about with him as U.S. president — a surprise to Hamas, no doubt — and that Israel’s problem is that it is losing a global PR war, not that there are hostages at play or that widespread starvation is at hand. Not helpful.
The week underscores a major difference between Trump, who issues broadsides, and Biden, who persuades, cajoles, seeks partial steps towards a goal.
Somehow the pointed political conversation has turned to perceived U.S. “strength” or “weakness” about the military on the one hand, with arguments about the effects, intentional or not, of warfare on civilians as some kind of opposing view. Why not both?
Global Ramifications
We’re getting lost in the details of back-room negotiation attempts that repeatedly fail. No one in this story is telling a whole truth, and there is way too much attention on fulfilling perceived power dynamics rather than fitting solutions to obvious problems.
Having no long-term goal other than destroying Hamas will not serve Netanyahu’s interests with keeping the U.S. at his back. Insisting on a two-state set-up when one of those countries — and maybe neither — will allow the other to exist is not an answer. Removing civilians, or women and children, sounds like a great idea, but no one, including the suddenly immigration-resistant United States, is stepping up to send in rescue vehicles to transport people out.
Indeed, the situation seems to be growing in danger not only for Gazans and Israelis, but for the world. An attack from Iran will not be indiscriminate, and the reprisals will only spiral. A report this week noted that weapons seized from Hamas included those of Chinese manufacture, and Russians are aligned with the Syrian government that allows Iranian militias to operate in its territory.
Even long-term Democratic supporters of Israel are pressuring Biden to tie U.S. aid to specific commitments for increased humanitarian aid.
The dangers here are myriad. Thinking and caring are being stretched thin.
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