With Blinken at Tel Aviv, Some Fissures Become Visible in Washington-Israel Alliance

Amid the growing threat of a widened, multi-faceted war in the Mideast, fissures are surfacing between Israel and America, as Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Netanyahu make their disagreements public. Addressing reporters at Tel Aviv on Friday, Mr. Blinken called on Israel to allow for “temporary pauses” in the war to let humanitarian assistance get to Gaza. In early October, Gaza was completely shut, he said, while today 100 trucks were allowed into the strip. “But that’s not enough,” he added. Gaza needs much more “food, medicine, and fuel.”Mr. Netanyahu has other ideas. “I made clear that Israel continues to fight with full force,” he said in a televised statement in Hebrew once Mr. Blinken finished his press conference. “We do not facilitate a temporary ceasefire without the release of all our hostages. We do not facilitate the delivery of fuel to Gaza.”As they spoke, Hezbollah’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a much-anticipated speech at Beirut that there is a “realistic possibility” of war with Israel. He also warned America over its presence near Lebanon’s shores: “Your naval forces in the Mediterranean do not frighten us. We have prepared a response for them.”Widening the anti-America, Israel-hating front beyond the region, Russia, too, is increasingly throwing its weight behind the Iran-led “axis of resistance.” As relations between Jerusalem and Moscow worsen, Israel has severed the long-time practice of alerting Russian forces in Syria in advance of air attacks there, Bloomberg reports. Additionally, the Kremlin-allied Wagner mercenaries have reportedly offered missile defense batteries to Hezbollah.Moscow’s relations with Tehran have tightened as Iran supplies drones, missiles, and artillery shells for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The closer cooperation with Israel’s enemies is widely seen as part of the Kremlin’s continued antagonism to America. At the United Nations this week, the Russian ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, argued that as an “occupier,” Israel has no right to self-defense. Yet in Israel Friday, Mr. Blinken stressed that not only does it have the right, but the “obligation” to defend itself. “No country could or should tolerate the slaughter of innocents,” he said. While both Messrs. Blinken and Netanyahu highlighted the American support for Israel, President Biden is increasingly concerned about televised images of destruction in Gaza and reports of high numbers of civilian casualties. White House staffers were reportedly shaken watching footage of the Israeli strikes that killed a top Hamas commander at Jabalia, in northern Gaza. Fighting in a tight urban area under increasing outside pressure to limit civilian casualties, the Israel Defense Force is moving slowly and deliberately to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities. Yet, it reportedly is expected to be “weeks, not months,” before Washington succumbs to pressures and forces Israel into a full ceasefire in Gaza. Beyond the left flank of Mr. Biden’s party, such pressures are growing among America’s Mideast allies. Mr. Blinken is expected to travel to Jordan and several Gulf countries after he leaves Israel. In Qatar, a major Hamas benefactor, he is expected to promote diplomatic negotiations toward releasing the 242 hostages taken into Gaza on October 7. Family members of the hostages protested outside Hakirya, Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon, where Mr. Blinken met with the Israeli war cabinet. “No pause until all hostages are released,” they chanted. Asked about their demands, Mr. Blinken told a reporter that America believes that humanitarian pauses would provide a “better environment for the hostages to get released.”IDF officials counter that increased military pressure on Hamas is a better way to hasten the release of hostages. Last week, elite Israeli troops liberated one hostage held in a northern Gaza tunnel. Officials said she provided much actionable intelligence. Israelis of all political stripes are largely united behind the need to end Hamas’s ability to ever repeat the horrors of October 7. Shown newly released videos of that day, Mr. Blinken said it is “shocking that the brutality of the slaughter has receded so quickly — but not in Israel.”Yet, he also said that as he watches the eyes of frightened Gazan children on television, “I see my own children.” He stressed the need to build a “broad coalition” in the region against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.This week, Amman recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv, and the parliament in Bahrain indicated it would do the same. Washington is concerned that the Abraham Accords could fray the longer Israel’s Gaza war continues, and efforts to add other countries, including Saudi Arabia, to the peace circle could be complicated. Mr. Nasrallah complemented allies in Yemen and Iraq and contended that a Hamas victory in Gaza would benefit the entire region. Unlike Washington, Jerusalem believes that its Mideast alliances would collapse unless Israel completes its mission to obliterate Hamas.

With Blinken at Tel Aviv, Some Fissures Become Visible in Washington-Israel Alliance

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