2024-01-14 22:23:28
On Sunday, Axios, citing four informed American officials, revealed that US President Joe Biden has begun to lose his patience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the war in the Gaza Strip.
The sources told the American website that there is a “growing sense of disappointment” towards Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration’s recent requests related to the war.
The website notes that after the full American support announced by the Biden administration at the beginning of the war, there is now “increasing evidence that Biden is beginning to lose his patience.” One American official said: “The situation is bad and we are stuck. The president is running out of patience.”
The site notes that Biden has not spoken to Netanyahu for 20 days, specifically after a tense call on December 23, which Biden ended by saying: “This conversation is over,” and that was after Netanyahu rejected a request to release Palestinian tax revenues.
Under the Oslo Accords, concluded in 1993 with American mediation, the Israeli Ministry of Finance collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the Palestinian Authority.
After the Hamas attacks last October 7, the Israeli government said that it would transfer tax funds to the Palestinian Authority and would withhold those allocations that would go to the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the movement that is on the US terrorist list.
The Palestinian Authority refused to accept a partial transfer of funds, and insisted on receiving the full amounts, which is a major source of income for the Authority.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is in close contact with US officials, told Axios: “They (the US administration) are pleading with Netanyahu’s coalition, but they are being slapped over and over again.”
The report indicates that in addition to the issue of tax revenues, Biden and his advisors believe that Israel is not doing enough to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and that Netanyahu does not wish to seriously discuss plans for the day after the war, and rejects the American plan to carry out reforms in the Palestinian Authority so that it has a role. In the post-Hamas era in Gaza.
US officials are now “increasingly concerned that Israel will not meet its timetable for transitioning to less intense operations in Gaza by the end of January,” given the current situation in Gaza, especially in the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip.
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Commenting on this, a National Security Council spokesperson told Axios that the administration is “focused on ensuring that Israel is able to defend itself against Hamas,” seeks to increase aid to Gaza “to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians” and is working with Israel “to secure the release of all “Hostages.”
The report pointed out that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s recent visit to Israel exacerbated the feeling of disappointment within the White House and the State Department, according to American officials who spoke to Axios.
From there, the minister said the United Nations would carry out an “assessment mission” to determine what needed to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
Netanyahu agreed to allow a United Nations mission to enter the northern Gaza Strip to assess the needs of the future return of Palestinian civilians to the area, but “that was all he was willing to give Blinken.”
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An American official said that Blinken was very frank with Netanyahu and his government, stressing to him that the Israeli government’s current plan for the day after the war is “a pipe dream.”
Blinken, who visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar before heading to Israel, told Israeli leaders that Arab countries will not provide assistance in rebuilding and managing Gaza if Israel does not allow the Palestinian Authority to play a role and does not allow a political horizon for the Palestinians.
It became clear to Behnken and his team after the visit that Netanyahu’s refusal to release Palestinian tax revenues “hinders American efforts to implement reforms in the Palestinian Authority,” according to two sources familiar with the Foreign Minister’s meetings.
The sources said that the head of the Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, informed Blinken, in Ramallah, that he was ready to form a new government, but stressed that it would not be able to work without money, and that tax revenues constitute a large part of the budget.
The report notes that the Biden administration is trying to “change Netanyahu’s calculations” by reviving efforts to reach a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, and Blinken told the Israeli Prime Minister that the Kingdom still wants normalization after the end of the war, but only if Israel adheres to the principle of a two-state solution, he said. US and Israeli officials previously reported to Axios.
Blinken said, after visits to Arab capitals, that he sees “opportunities for Israel to build closer relations in the region” after the Gaza war, according to what Archyde.com reported.
Saudi Arabia and Israel.. “The Kingdom wants normalization.” Were the conditions different?
With the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas following the attack by the movement’s militants last October, observers expressed fear that this would abort American efforts to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Israel to reach a normalization agreement between them.
While American officials assert that it is “unlikely” that the Prime Minister will agree to a deal that paves the way towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, they say that they want to present an alternative vision for what may be an endless war in Gaza.
At the same time, Washington is thinking long-term, and keeping channels open with other political players in Israel.
During a visit last week, Blinken held a separate meeting with former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who local opinion polls show would likely easily win the Israeli elections if they were held today.
Blinken also met with Opposition Leader, Yair Lapid, and Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, Netanyahu’s main rival within Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
But for now, Netanyahu appears “more willing to listen” to his right-wing ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, rather than “what the president of the United States says,” Senator Van Hollen told Axios. .
The two ministers had made statements calling for the “displacement of the Palestinians” in the Gaza Strip. Smotrich said in an interview with Israeli media this month that Israel must take steps to encourage the migration of the majority of Palestinians in Gaza to other countries.
The Washington Post revealed, a few days ago, that Blinken’s visit to Israel revealed “disagreements” between the two allies “regarding Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians,” as the two sides expressed “opposing views on when the Palestinians can return to the northern Gaza Strip and obtain tax revenues.” collected by Israel.
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