2023-10-18 11:21:52
Joe Biden arrived on Wednesday for a solidarity visit to Israel, on the twelfth day of the war with Hamas. However, the American president had to give up going to Jordan following the cancellation of the emergency summit which was to be held there with the Jordanian, Egyptian and Palestinian leaders. A hard blow for the United States, whose stated objective was to discuss the repercussions of the conflict in the region.
Published on: 10/18/2023 – 1:21 p.m. Modified on: 10/18/2023 – 1:53 p.m.
5 mn
US President Joe Biden began a solidarity visit to Israel on Wednesday, October 18, during which he assured that he would work with Israel to avoid “further tragedy” for civilians, on the twelfth day of a war between Israel and the Hamas in the Gaza Strip causing thousands of deaths.
The 80-year-old democrat, by announcing his trip, was making an immense gamble: that of being able to present himself both as the guarantor of Israel’s security, as the best hope of Palestinian civilians, and as a bulwark once morest the risks of regional escalation.
But this quest for balance was shattered even before his departure. The cause was Tuesday’s bombing of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, which left between 200 and 500 dead according to the authorities.
The end of dialogue with Arab countries?
This new drama led Jordan to cancel the emergency summit in which Joe Biden was to participate with King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and the leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
According to Matthieu Mabin, correspondent for France 24 in Washington, “if the American president does not find another interlocutor than the Israeli Prime Minister once he arrives in Tel Aviv, his presence will only highlight the end of the dialogue with the actors Arabs in the region. Precisely what the United States wanted to avoid.”
03:00
© France 24
Without any meetings with Arab leaders during his visit, it will be difficult for the US president to play a mediating role in the Middle East. John Kirby, spokesperson for the American National Security Council, assured that it was a “mutual” decision, and indicated that Joe Biden would call the Palestinian leader and the Egyptian president on the plane home, Wednesday evening.
Joe Biden, however, maintained his trip, under very high security, because he wants to ask “difficult questions” to Israel, according to John Kirby. Upon his arrival, he supported the version of the Israeli authorities attributing the strike in a hospital in Gaza to Palestinian fighters.
After his closed-door meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden assured that he would work with Israel to avoid “further tragedy” for civilians. “We will continue to work with you and our partners across the region to prevent further tragedy for innocent civilians,” he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside him, affirmed that his country “will do everything it can” to spare civilians.
Joe Biden is also due to speak with paramedics and rescue workers and meet families of victims of the bloody Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7.
A high-risk visit
Arriving in Israel in a difficult context, the American president must also ensure his own security. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Israel a few days earlier, “had to take refuge in a bunker with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protect themselves from gunfire [de roquettes depuis la bande de Gaza, NDLR] “, recalls our international columnist Armelle Charrier. “We imagine that security is at its maximum to ensure that the American president is not affected.”
05:11
© AFP
The visit is closely scrutinized around the world. While The New York Times evokes a “courageous” journey even for a president “benefiting from such considerable security”, the Washington Post warns that this visit carries risks “both for American politics and for the political legacy of Joe Biden”, who promised to end the “forever wars”.
Joe Biden also takes the risk of returning empty-handed, with no promise from the Israeli government to let humanitarian aid into Gaza, with no answers for the families of American nationals held hostage by Hamas, the exact number of whom is n is not known.
Also read: In besieged and bombed Gaza, the population will soon be deprived of water, food and electricity
But “the United States arms Israel a lot,” recalls Armelle Charrier. “The country has the capacity to produce its own weapons but it needs support from the United States because it is a small state.”
Sending two aircraft carriers
By going to the region, the leader of the most powerful army in the world is also testing his capacity to deter Hezbollah, and therefore once morest Iran. Washington has deployed two aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean “to deter hostile actions once morest Israel,” according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“To protect Israel from any strike, there are 100 American aircraft that can take off at any time and 2,500 additional soldiers,” recalls Armelle Charrier.
But the United States, which is already Ukraine’s main supporter and wants to retain strategic resources to stand up to China, does not want the conflict to expand. Especially since Joe Biden is not entirely in control of the situation: any major additional deployment of aid to Israel must be validated by the American Congress. However, the latter is currently paralyzed by the hard right which is trying to impose one of its own at the head of the House of Representatives.
1697634342
#shot #dark
