Joe Biden has decided to take the first concrete action against Israelafter 7 months of war in Gaza and 35 thousand deaths. According to what he writes Axioswhich cites two Israeli officials, for the first time since October 7 the American president has the shipment of ammunition was blocked allo ‘Jewish state‘ so as not to fuel the massacre underway in the Strip. A choice made a week ago and which becomes public while the possible agreement for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas risks failing again. The point of confrontation remains the same: the complete withdrawal of the army of Tel Aviv from the Strip. For Tel Aviv it is an impracticable option, for the armed Palestinian party the only chance to sit at a table. The consequence is that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing for an invasion of Rafah, the last city in the extreme south of the Gaza Strip. And the Hamas delegation leaves Cairodirected to Dohawithout an agreement in hand and with the promise of starting a new one round of talks on Tuesday.
BIDEN’S MOVE – That of the head of the American administration is a move that had to come sooner or later, also in view of the November elections. The explosive situation in the US universitiesdove pro-Palestine students continue to carry out demonstrations on university campuses and occupations forcibly repressed by the US police, has certainly accelerated the timing of the head of state’s decision. On the one hand, the Democratic candidate must respond to pressure from the Jewish community American, traditionally a supporter of the Dems, split internally between those who demand full support for Israel after the Hamas attack on 7 October and those who, for different reasons, ask to suspend aid to the extremist government of Benjamin Netanyahu. On the other, in fact, there are the Muslim community and the increasingly numerous demonstrators in the streets and, above all, on US campuses. To these is added a part of Democratic partythe one that belongs to the wing close to the former candidate Bernie Sanders and to the deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezwhich has been lobbying for months White House going so far as to threaten a boycott of the vote.
So, last week, at least according to what he reports Axios, the decision has arrived. In February the White House asked Israel to provide guarantees that US weapons would be used by the Israeli army in Gaza in accordance with international law, with Tel Aviv providing a signed letter of assurances in March. Evidently, the content of the letter did not convince the administration.
THE CEASEFIRE MOVES AWAY – Meanwhile, the continuation of negotiations and the adamant positions of Israel and Hamas on the presence or absence of IDF soldiers in the Strip in the event of a truce are blocking a possible agreement. “The meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence is over – he told theAfp a representative of the Palestinian Islamic party – The Hamas delegation will leave for Doha to continue the consultations”. Confirming how tension is gradually rising come the words of Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallantaccording to which the operation in Rafah will start “very soon”. There are no doubts about the military initiative in the southern city of the Strip, according to what Israel has declared in recent days that it has no intention of giving up “defeating Hamas”, but an agreement for a ceasefire would at least have spared the inhabitants of the Strip another few weeks of insistent raids by the Israeli army. Even from Cairowhere the second day of negotiations with the mediators of Egypt e QatarHamas representatives speak of “lack of progress” in the negotiations, also because the armed Palestinian party has no intention of seeking an agreement “at any cost”: “An agreement must put an end to the war and bring out of Gaza l’Idf. Israel has not yet committed itself,” they explain. The leader’s statements also confirmed the position Ismail Haniyeh: we need a “global agreement that puts an end to the aggression, guarantees the withdrawal of the IDF and reaches a serious agreement on exchange of prisoners. What is the point of an agreement if the ceasefire is not its first result?”.
Meanwhile, not very encouraging news is arriving from Israel. One concerns the flow of aid for the population of the Strip which will become even more complicated after Tel Aviv’s decision close the Kerem Shalom crossing after some Hamas missile attacks in the area. The other is instead linked to the decision voted unanimously by the government close down operations of the issuer al-Jazeera in Israel, ordering the confiscation of equipment. A measure that the executive can take for 45 days and which could be the prelude to military action in Rafah: in this way, many of the images circulating from the Strip, the work of reporters from AJthey would not be visible in Israel.
The stasis in the talks is inevitably accompanied by the exchange of responsibilities between the parties. While Hamas deems Israel’s desire to enter with Israel unacceptable tanks in Rafah regardless of whether an agreement is reached, Benjamin Netanyahu he claims that it is the armed party that is “preventing an agreement for the release of the hostages. Israel was and still is ready to conclude a truce in the fight to free our abductees.” But Hamas, he added, “remained entrenched in its own extreme positions, first of all the request to withdraw all our forces from Gaza. Israel cannot accept this. Therefore, Israel will not accept Hamas’ demands for surrender and will continue to fight until all its objectives are achieved.”
THE NORTHERN FRONT IS HEATING UP. CLASHES WITH HEZBOLLAH – Even on the northern front, where in recent days an agreement for the withdrawal of the forces seemed imminent Hezbollah, the tension rises again. The Party of God Lebanese Shiites fired “dozens” of rockets into northern Israel after the deaths of three civilians following an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon. “Dozens of rockets Katyusha e Falak” were thrown at you Kiryat Shmona “in response to the horrible crime committed by the Israeli enemy a Meiss Ej Jabal“, who killed a couple and their child, reads the note from the Lebanese group.