Special relationship: On U.S. policy on Israel
The broad national consensus on Israel in the U.S. is slowly breaking up
On the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issued a new evacuation order, asking Palestinians to leave several neighbourhoods of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, including areas that had earlier been designated as a humanitarian zone. When Mr. Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington on Wednesday, more than 39,000 Palestinians, a vast majority of them women and children, had already been killed in Gaza by the IDF in less than 10 months. At least 90,000 Palestinians have been wounded and nearly the entire population of the enclave has been displaced, some of them several times. Dozens of journalists have been killed. Private charities, UN aid workers, hospitals, ambulances, and even tent camps of the displaced have been bombed. Gaza, besieged by the IDF, does not have enough food, water, or medicines. The UN, which has repeatedly tried to draw the world’s attention to the suffering of Palestinians, now warns of epidemics. Two UN Security Council resolutions called for a ceasefire in Gaza. There have been two rulings from the International Court of Justice, which is hearing a case of genocide, against Israel’s conduct of the war. None of this seems to bother the U.S. lawmakers, who applauded Mr. Netanyahu throughout his speech.
Without the U.S.’s political and military support, Mr. Netanyahu’s government would not have been able to fight such a disastrous war, which was triggered by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, in Israel, killing 1,200 people. More than 100 people taken hostage on October 7 are still in Hamas’s captivity, which Israel cites as the reason for the continuation of the war. But in the name of fighting Hamas, Israel has been punishing the entire Palestinian population in Gaza. Officials of the Biden administration have voiced concerns over civilian casualties. But besides the verbal protestations, Washington has done little to force Israel to act. Worse, the U.S. continues to provide military assistance to Israel. Yet, there are underlying tensions in the relationship. The protests in Washington while Mr. Netanyahu was speaking at Congress point to the growing public criticism of his war and America’s support for it. The welcome Mr. Netanyahu received at Congress shows that he has the support of the elites. But the protest on the streets and the dissenting voices even among lawmakers suggest that the national consensus on Israel is eroding in the U.S.