The ominous headlines emanating from Israel-Palestine should’ve been expected. The Israelis appear intent on making a desperately bad situation worse, and the Biden administration is in denial that their actions have amounted to pouring gasoline on a raging fire.
The Israelis act as if their brutal behaviors have no consequences as their genocidal assault on Gaza continues, ordering new mass evacuations uprooting entire families. Bombings throughout Gaza have resulted in acute shortages of food, medicine, and water. There are reports of children dying of malnutrition and now polio.
What Israelis cannot understand is that the anger and pain only creates more resistance and new recruits for Hamas. For months, the Israelis have been confronting Palestinian fighters in Gaza’s northern and central regions they’d claimed were “cleared.” But as the US learned in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, while the alien invader remains, no area is ever “cleared.”
Meanwhile, the West Bank appears ready to explode. For years, the IDF and border police have conducted deadly raids into Palestinian communities. Since the war in Gaza began, raids have accelerated and become more lethal, accompanied by arial bombings.
Moreover, Palestinians have long been plagued by extremist settler violence—burning, looting, and deadly force. These rampages, tolerated and often encouraged by Israeli military forces, have grown in frequency and deadly intent.
Making matters worse, members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition have engaged in provocations, egging on extremist settlers and generating greater anger or fear among Palestinians. Illegal outposts have been legitimized, provided military protection, government services, and weapons, and effectively annexed to Israel. One minister led extremists to invade the Haram al Sharif, declaring intent to build a synagogue on Al Aqsa Mosque grounds. Another coalition member said that the government’s goal should be making the West Bank more governable by removing the bulk of Palestinians.
All this is a boon to Hamas’ recruiting, attracting new members in the occupied lands—and among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
While this plays out, the Biden team acts clueless—exhausting themselves trying to negotiate a ceasefire they must know by now the Netanyahu government is uninterested in accepting. The US tinkers to make the terms acceptable to Israel (but unacceptable to Hamas and the Egyptians), while Netanyahu, afraid of losing his government, continues to say “No” or cause delay with some new outrage.
US redlines are crossed and US law is violated, but the Biden administration still sends weapons and threatens those in the international community calling for accountability. The net effect is reinforcement of Israel’s sense of impunity, growing Palestinian anger, strengthened standing of Hama, and increasing international condemnation of the US for enabling Israeli actions.
What supposedly began as retaliation against the October 7th terrorist outrage has evolved into a full-fledged genocidal assault with no end, spawning more resistance. Neither side should assume any sort of victory is possible. Both Israeli and Palestinian societies have become more extreme. The deep well of bitterness will take more than a generation to fill.
Fault lies with Hamas, for its horrific October attack, Israel, for its abominable response—and squarely on the US. For too long we’ve enabled Israel’s illegal actions, emboldened extremists and killed off Israel’s peace forces, while rendering Palestinian moderates irrelevant and empowering Palestinian extremists. Palestinians are asked to make hard choices, while little is asked of Israelis—whose refusal has no consequences.
To change this dynamic, the US must reverse course—dramatically. A long-overdue cut-off of US arms to Israel and recognition of Palestinian self-determination would provide exactly the shock to the system that’s needed—forcing internal debate in Israel, empowering peace-seekers, and communicating to Palestinians that their plight and rights are understood.
These actions, along with determination and concrete steps, won’t end the conflict tomorrow, but would surely put us on a more productive path toward peace.
Some will say that Biden taking such a step is unlikely. But if he could muster the resolve to step aside for his Vice-President, he can find the courage to do this. It won’t undo the damage already done, but will pave the way for his successor to move more easily toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Dr. James J. Zogby
The writer is the President of Arab American Institute.