"Israel is a strategic burden for the United States", this is the comment recently published by the American magazine Foreign Policy. According to Qatar's Al Jazeera, differences between the United States and Israel have been accumulating since the IDF entered the Gaza Strip. Today, the "offshore balancer" of the United States seems to have difficulty controlling its "strategic pawn" in the Middle East.
From "strategic chess pieces" to "strategic baggage", what kind of game is there behind the "change of face" of the United States?
Violating human rights with the "Yehuda Victory Battalion" The United States may sanction a military unit for the first time
On April 21, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media that the imposition of sanctions on a unit of the Israel Defense Forces is extremely absurd and morally low.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on IDF units, I will do everything in my power to fight them.
Newsweek said that Netanyahu's anger was directed at the United States.
A day earlier, U.S. media broke the news that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to impose sanctions on the "Yehuda Victory Battalion" affiliated with the Israel Defense Forces for "human rights violations" within a few days.
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE BLINKEN: You just mentioned the Leahy Act.
In 1997, the U.S. Congress passed the Leahy Act, which prohibits the U.S. government from providing any form of assistance to foreign armed forces that violate human rights.
France 24 TV International Political Commentator Gordesteiny: This means that this organization, this battalion will not be eligible for any US military aid or military training. This will be the first time that the United States has sanctioned an Israeli military unit.
In response, Finance Minister Bessalel Smotrich, a hardline official on the far right of the Israeli government, called the US government "absolutely insane."
The New York Times noted that this highlights the recent volatility in US-Israeli relations.
The "Yehuda Victory Battalion", part of the IDF "Lion Cub Brigade", is an all-male infantry battalion of ultra-Orthodox Jews and religious nationalists in Israel, formed in 1999. Today, there are thousands of people stationed in the West Bank for a long time.
American journalist Brett Murphy: For years, the battalion has been accused of human rights violations, shooting civilians, beating civilians.
According to data provided by Israeli human rights organizations, since 2010, one out of every five Israeli soldiers convicted of harming Palestinians or their property comes from the "Yehuda Victory Camp." The battalion has the highest conviction rate in such cases.
Yehuda Victory Battalion Soldiers: They (the Palestinians) are saying hello to you. We're having a party, say hello. Say it.
Omar al-Assad, a Palestinian-American, lived in the United States for about 40 years. In 2022, he was violently treated after being detained by the "Yehuda Victory Camp" at a checkpoint in the West Bank.
Witness Abu Muhammad: A soldier puts his hand on his neck to check his pulse and then hurries away. I went up to check after the soldier left, and he had no pulse.
The autopsy report revealed that Omar al-Assad had bruises on his head, his wrists were red from the binding, and his eyes were bleeding from being tightly covered. He died of a heart attack caused by external violence.
Reporter: If the Israeli soldiers had provided assistance, would he have survived?
Autopsy Doctor Tahel: yes, probably.
After the incident was exposed, the U.S. government lodged a strong protest, but the Israeli military decided not to prosecute the criminal prosecution on the grounds that "there is no direct link between the actions of the soldiers and the deaths of American citizens." Only one officer was reprimanded, and two officers were transferred to non-command posts.
Israeli Defense Minister Gallant: One or two soldiers did something wrong and the entire battalion cannot be blamed.
In December 2023, a U.S. State Department task force recommended that Blinken disqualify several Israeli military and police forces, including the Yehuda Victory Battalion, from receiving U.S. assistance under the Leahy Act.
U.S. JOURNALIST BRET MURPHY: This is a very special group, which the U.S. has set up specifically for Israel. The United States has no such consideration for other countries. The team is mandated to examine allegations of serious human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings and rape. The group reviews public reports to examine whether the Israeli government has held the perpetrators accountable. If not, the group would have made a recommendation [to the U.S. government] that aid to that particular unit might be withdrawn.
In the eyes of Al-Arabiya TV, this is the United States hammering the disobedient Israel.
Biden is trying to regain voter support by banging on Israel
Recently, Israel has insisted on escalating its military operation against Gaza and exacerbating the contradictions with Iran, causing the situation in the Middle East to develop "out of control". This is not in line with US interests in the Middle East.
Mariaf Zonzein, Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group: Just a few days ago we started to see, at least verbally, a rift in the US-Israel military operation in Gaza.
According to the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, the current geopolitical pattern in the Middle East is roughly "divided into three": the "resistance camp" led by Iran, the "change camp" composed of pro-Muslim brotherhood forces such as Turkey and Qatar, and the camp composed of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Hamas is seen as part of the "resistance camp" and is also supported by the "change camp" because of its Muslim Brotherhood background. Therefore, the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has actually increased the regional influence of Iran, Turkey and other countries, weakened the influence of Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and interfered with the layout of the United States in the Middle East.
As a result, the current situation presents the U.S. government with a dilemma: to prop up Israel, an ally in the Middle East, and suppress the "resistance camp," but also to restrain Israel's military operations, reduce civilian casualties, and allay the growing criticism at home and abroad.
On April 23, when U.S. President Joe Biden visited Tampa, Florida, he was repeatedly protested by the public.
Protesters: Do the right thing, President Biden. Liberate Palestine, now ceasefire!
The escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a political headache for Biden, making it difficult for him to strike a balanced stance between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel voters in the United States.
Reporter: Mr. President, do you have anything to say to the protesters?
U.S. PRESIDENT BIDEN: I condemn antisemitism protests, so I have a plan in place to address this.
Biden and Netanyahu have been friends for more than 40 years, and he is also a staunch supporter of Israel.
BILDEN (1986): If there is no Israel, the United States would have to invent an Israel to protect [our] interests in the region.
BIDEN (1992): If I were Jewish, I would be a Zionist. Even if you are not Jewish, you can be a Zionist.
BIDDEN (1995): For the past 24 years, I have believed that the only way to achieve peace in the Middle East is to make the Arab countries realize that there are no differences between the United States and Israel.
BIDEN (2008): I have spared no effort in defending and supporting Israel.
According to the Times of Israel, the spouses of all three of Biden's children are from Jewish families. The late eldest son, Beau Biden, had a Jewish, his mother, Melissa Cohen, his second wife, Hunter Biden, was of South African Jewish, and Howard Crane, the husband of his youngest daughter, Ashley Biden, was a Jewish doctor. The Times of Israel therefore said that Biden is now the grandfather of a group of adorable Jewish children.
BIDEN (2015): Everybody knows I love Israel.
But now, the unhesitating "stand up" attitude is causing Biden to lose the support of young American voters.
According to a Harvard youth poll released on April 18, among 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States, Biden leads Trump by 45% to 37%. Although there is an 8-point advantage, it is far less than the 30-point lead before the 2020 election.
Harvard Youth Pollster: 51 percent of young Americans say they support a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, while only 10 percent oppose it.
Data from the "Arab American Institute" also shows that after the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Biden's support among Arab voters has plummeted from 59% in 2020 to 17%.
Areas with a high concentration of Arab American residents happen to be located in key swing states. In 2020, Biden won the election mainly by winning in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with Michigan having the highest percentage of Al-American voters in the United States, with more than 200,000 Muslim registered voters.
The latest Bloomberg poll this week shows that voter support for aid to Israel has plummeted in seven swing states in the United States since the new round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And knocking on Israel is seen as a means for Biden to calm social anger and regain voter support.
Simon Zippis, an Israeli scholar of international relations, believes that even if sanctions are really imposed on the "Yehuda Victory Camp," the purpose is only to create a false impression of punishing Israel out of the domestic political needs of the United States, not to weaken Israel's overall military strength.
Growing domestic discontent Netanyahu faces a political threat
However, Netanyahu must respond strongly to this, because he also faces a huge risk of losing domestic political support right now.
On 22 April, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement that Aharon Haliwa would end his duties and retire from the IDF following the appointment of a successor.
Aharon Haliwa, Head of IDF Military Intelligence. He is the first senior Israeli military official to resign after Hamas's raid on Israel on October 7, 2023. Haliwa admitted that his forces had "intelligence lapses".
Gulf & Iran News Director at the Associated Press Gambryl: Haliwa immediately took responsibility, which is in stark contrast to Netanyahu. Netanyahu has never expressed any responsibility for the Hamas attacks.
On the same day, Yehuda Fox, commander of the Israeli Central Command, also announced his imminent resignation.
The new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has lasted for more than six months, and discontent in Israel is also growing.
Protester: I think it's a shame to have Netanyahu as prime minister.
Multiple polls suggest that if elections are held at this time, Netanyahu will be defeated by a more moderate rival.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Nancy Pelosi: His intelligence chief resigned, and he (Netanyahu) should resign as well. He is the ultimate leader.
Reporter: Did Netanyahu stop peace?
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress Nancy Pelosi: Yes, for many years. I don't know if he is afraid of peace, incapable of achieving peace, or if he doesn't want peace at all. But he has always been an obstacle to the two-state solution.
On April 25, Israel's public broadcaster reported that Netanyahu had approved plans for Israeli forces to conduct ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. The latest satellite imagery shows that Israel appears to be building a large tent city near Khan Younis, each with a capacity of 10 to 12 people, to evacuate the more than 1 million Palestinians who have taken refuge in Rafah.
Israeli government spokesman Menser: Israel's wartime cabinet is meeting to discuss how to destroy the last quarter of Hamas's forces in Rafah.
Analysts pointed out that in the past two months, Netanyahu has repeatedly emphasized attacking Rafah in order to show Israel's tough posture and seize more initiative in the process of negotiations with Hamas and the game with the United States.
However, after the escalation of the conflict with Iran, some members of the far right in the Israeli government are dissatisfied with Netanyahu's lack of a strong response, and opposition leaders such as Gantz prefer to remove Netanyahu from the election at an early date.
In this context, a focus on Rafah and escalating tensions could help Netanyahu reunite the right and make it difficult for opposition parties to make a difference during the military operation.
Al Jazeera political analyst Bisara: Netanyahu's personal career is at stake, his ideology and political alliances are at stake, his political career and personal interests are at stake. Now no one can stop him.
Analysts: It is difficult for the Israeli army to launch a full-scale offensive against Rafah
However, Rafah differs from other cities in Gaza in that it shares a border with Egypt.
The "Philadelphia Corridor", a 14-kilometer-long strip of land between southern Gaza and Egypt. In 1979, Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel, stipulating that the "Philadelphia Corridor" would be a "buffer zone" controlled by Israeli forces. In 2007, Hamas took control of the Philadelphia corridor.
So, if Israel intends to "fight a decisive battle" against Rafah, will the Israeli army enter the "Philadelphia corridor," will a large number of Gaza refugees pour into Egypt? All these will affect Israel's relations with Egypt in the future.
At present, the Israeli side has not made a clear statement on the above issues. Analysts point out that Israel may escalate its strikes until the overall strategic plan is perfected, but it will be difficult to launch a full-scale offensive against Rafah.
Mairav Zonzein, Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group: I think all of this is mostly theater and acting. Israel has been threatening to invade Rafah in recent months, but I don't think Israel really plans to do so. And the U.S. condemnation of Israel, while strongly worded, is not really convincing. I don't believe the U.S. will actually stop aiding [Israel], or that the U.S. or Biden will really stop Israel from invading Rafah. Because the United States is largely behind this war.
On April 24, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill to provide $26 billion in aid to Israel, including $4 billion to supplement the missiles used in the Iron Dome and David Slings air defense systems, and $1.2 billion to develop the Iron Beam laser missile defense system.
Two days later, ABC disclosed that Blinken said in a letter to House Speaker Johnson that "no U.S. assistance will be delayed." This means that the plan for sanctions that the United States will impose on IDF units in a few days, which was previously mentioned in media reports, has been postponed.
Brian Master, U.S. House of Representatives: Israel is our ally, does anyone disagree? They are allies, and nobody disagrees. Does anyone think Gaza is our ally? I see people shaking their heads. Does that make sense if we support non-allies who are at war with our allies?
The unjust stance of the United States has made the Palestinian-Israeli situation more and more tense
Iraqi political analyst Mustafa Khalil bluntly said that it was precisely the United States' long-standing unjust stance and hegemonist policy on the Palestinian-Israeli issue that triggered a new round of tension in the Middle East.
The hypocrisy of the United States is further highlighted by its efforts to prevent the escalation of the situation, while continuing to vigorously promote military aid and sanctions against Iran.
Simon Zippis, an Israeli scholar of international relations, believes that this seemingly contradictory policy is actually a "double game" by American politicians. In this way, Biden is trying to gain the support of both Jewish and Muslim voters before the election.
Josh Paul, Senior State Department Official: [The United States] continues to provide weapons so that Israel can continue its operations. This is still US policy.
For a long time, out of the need to consolidate its hegemony in the Middle East and the domestic politics of the United States, successive US administrations have regarded Israel as the most important ally in the Middle East. US Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has bluntly stated that Israel is the "eyes and ears" of the United States in the Middle East.
According to the Chicago Institute for Global Affairs, an American research organization, from the establishment of the United Nations Security Council in 1945 to the end of 2023, 45 of the 89 draft resolutions vetoed by the United States in the Security Council involve Israel, including 33 on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory or treatment of Palestinians.
On 18 April, the United States again voted against it in the UN Security Council, vetoing the draft resolution on Palestine's membership of the UN.
Stephen Walter, a professor of international relations at Harvard University, bluntly argues that it is the unconditional support of the United States for Israel over the past decades that has allowed the latter to "do whatever it wants", which has led to increasingly extreme Israeli domestic politics and its treatment of Palestinians.
The reappearance of mass graves in the Gaza Strip Israel may be guilty of war crimes
Khan Younis Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip, where multiple mass graves have been discovered over the past two weeks have shocked international public opinion. Hundreds of bodies were buried deep in the ground, covered in rubbish.
Gaza correspondent Satari: Some people were tied up, some had medical accessories on their hands, such as needles. When excavated from the ground, some were apparently buried alive, and some were tortured.
Earlier, similar mass graves were found at Shifa Hospital.
The UN Human Rights Office said it raised renewed suspicions that Israel might be committing war crimes.
Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Let us be clear, the deliberate killing of civilians, detainees and other hors de combat is a war crime.
The Israeli side denies this.
More than 34,000 people, including 14,000 children, have died in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the new Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the Gaza Strip's health department.
Samir Rajib, president of the Arab Foundation for Development and Strategic Studies in Egypt, bluntly said that the huge casualties were caused by "the weapons and ammunition provided by the United States and the immoral connivance of the United States."
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell: We have to reiterate once again that Israel must respect international law.
"It's not about making Israel an enemy of the United States, it's about treating Israel like any other country, keeping your distance. An article in the US magazine "Foreign Policy" pointed out that it is time to promote the "normalization" of relations between the United States and Israel.
In his article "The United States and Israel Are Drifting Apart," Ibiš, a senior scholar at the "Gulf Arab States Institute" in Washington, pointed out that an increasingly serious and direct conflict is taking place between Israel's political ambitions and the United States' strategic interests in the Middle East.
Israel's series of military actions are gradually pulling the United States into the water. Biden, who is in an election year, must reassure domestic voters and not risk another war. This has also narrowed the U.S. government's policy options between "supporting Israel" and "avoiding involvement in a large-scale conflict in the Middle East."
Source: CCTV News