Before the beginning of the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2023, a renowned American scholar Noam Chomsky was asked about the state of the relationship between the United States and Israel.
According to history, when the United States demanded action from Israel to Gaza, it would do it
Chomsky was sharp enough to understand that things have changed in recent years as the political leader of Israel became outspoken about asserting Israel’s independence from the U.S.
He said,’ It’s the first that the communication between the U.S and Israel has been this clear, but it’s not clear how the United States will respond to this,’
Rather than using its power to make Israel follow U.S. policies, President Joe Biden’s administration has often given to Israel. This has a worse effect on the U.S. and its economy; other countries consider the U.S. a weak influence. It can also harm U.S. democracy.
A pattern of acquiescence
In this matter, there is no such question where the U.S. has been involved with most of Israel’s war plan, which includes its aim for destroying Hamas too, also not the question that the Biden administration has signed off on much of the violence that has been created in Gaza.
Israel has never followed U.S. rules, policies and concerns about how it handles war.
This has forced Israel to be more concerned about shifting its Biden administration to its positions and rhetoric to be more streamlined with Israel.
A case in point is the Biden administration’s December push to get Israel to wrap up major combat operations in Gaza, which the Israeli government ignored.
In the case of Biden administration’s December push to get Israel to wind up major combat operations in Gaza, Israel fully ignored it.
Biden was embarrassed by Palestinian casualties and on December 12, Biden said,’ that Israel’s bombing of Gaza seemed ‘’indiscriminate’’
Biden said on 14 December that Israel should be careful about attacks on Gaza, and should think of the civilians who have no concern over this war but are being pressed under it.
next on December 18, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin convinced Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant to be more ‘’ surgical’’ in his attacks on Gaza, asking to move to a lower intensity that would save civilians of Israel, to save their lives, they have to be calm in this situation.
However, Israel did its opposite by attacking more intensely and brutally on Palestinians on December 14 and killing hundreds of people, they attacked on homes of Palestinian people where they killed dozens of families. The next day, on December 15, they killed more than 30 people who were sheltered in a United Nations school in Khan Younis. Through December, they intensified attacks and continued killing of people.
The familiar pattern repeated when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region in early January. Just before his arrival, Israel killed Al Jazeera journalist Hamza Dahdouh and his colleague Mustafa Thuraya. While Blinken expressed hope for the war to “end as soon as possible,” Israel killed more than 126 Palestinians in 24 hours.
Despite repeated calls from U.S. officials to protect civilians, Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and camps for the displaced, have continued. Israel’s disregard for U.S. warnings became even clearer leading up to the ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
In March, a leaked government document showed the U.S. believed the operation would be “catastrophic” for Palestinian civilians. Shortly after, President Biden stated in an interview that a Rafah offensive was a “red line” for him, and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with other U.S. officials, also voiced opposition.
However, when it became clear Israel would invade Rafah with or without U.S. approval, the U.S. subtly changed its stance, stating that such an offensive would require “serious planning.” As Israeli forces intensified their attacks and moved further into the city, the Biden administration maintained that no “red lines” had been crossed.
The invasion displaced over a million Palestinians and led to numerous deaths, including 45 people killed in an attack on a tent camp previously marked as a “safe zone.” Throughout the 10 months of conflict, Israel consistently ignored U.S. demands to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. Worse, it pursued a policy that effectively starved the population.
Unable to convince Israel to open essential land crossings and perhaps trying to divert attention from the humanitarian disaster, the Biden administration sent military personnel to build a $320 million makeshift pier off Gaza’s coast. The pier, widely criticized for being inadequate for aid delivery, failed to meet Gaza’s needs and had to be dismantled weeks later because it kept breaking apart.
The fact that the U.S. had to resort to building a pier — essentially as a workaround for Israel’s refusal to cooperate, highlights the Biden administration’s struggle and embarrassment in addressing the crisis.
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