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Joe Biden’s Contradictions Are Hurting Israel
Joe Biden, President of the United States. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
JNS.org – US President Joe Biden’s approach to Israel since the start of the Oct. 7 war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip has my head spinning. His approach has been marked by a delicate balancing act that attempts to support a key ally on one hand while addressing humanitarian concerns faced by Gazan civilians on the other. However, this balancing act—some might call it “nuanced”—has led to contradictions that impact the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Remember that it began after a horde of Hamas terrorists invaded Israeli communities along the Gaza border, murdered 1,200 people, and kidnapped some 250 Israelis and citizens of other countries, including a number who hold citizenship in the United States.
I have no doubt that Biden’s quickly spoken words of support for Israel and his ordering the US Navy to post two carrier strike groups off of Israel’s Mediterranean coast were sincere in their intent and purpose to thwart any ideas that Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsor may have had for joining in the war against Israel. Israel was quick to recognize Biden’s support when, within a week after the ground war started, large posters thanking him appeared in cities around the country. (The one near my home in Jerusalem is now down.)
But let’s look at the contradictions:
First, Biden has repeatedly emphasized his “ironclad” support for Israel. His visit to Israel on Oct. 18 so soon after the terrorist attacks was evidence of that. His recent comments in response to Iran’s missile launches and drone attacks overnight on April 13-14 are another example.
Yet at the same time, while recognizing Israel’s need to eliminate Hamas, the administration bemoans the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza that the war has created. Its call for increased aid to and the protection of civilians reflects this concern without in any way laying the blame for the crisis at the feet of Hamas, which steals food and fuel being delivered to the Strip before it can reach the Palestinian public.
Second, the Biden administration supports Israel’s military actions against threats posed by Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. However, it also questions the motives of Israel’s war cabinet and chastises Israel for not having a game plan in place for administering Gaza “the day after” the war ends. Calls by leading Democrat politicians for what effectively is regime change in Israel could not have happened without clearance from the White House.
Thus, backing Israel’s war efforts while expressing reservations about its leadership affects negotiations and decision-making during the conflict.
Iran’s attack on Israel and the resulting US involvement shows the third contradiction. For when Tehran launched its barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones, the US military assisted Israel in intercepting many of them. Then, within hours and after witnessing a modern-day miracle of military technology, the Biden administration was urging Israel’s leadership to use restraint in any response. “Take the win,” Biden stated.
So, supporting Israel’s defense against Iranian aggression while urging restraint creates a delicate juggling act even in the best of times, and at this time, affects the dynamics of the conflict and raises more questions about escalation than it answers.
Fourth, and perhaps most significantly, the contradiction can be summed up in one word: Rafah. A city of some 175,000 people located on the border between Gaza and Egypt has now swelled by some estimates to 1.4 million people due to the influx of those who left the northern part of the coastal enclave following the Israeli incursion to root out and destroy Hamas. Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold with an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 fighters in its midst.
Publicly, the Biden administration has disagreed with Israel over how to remove Hamas terrorists from Rafah, which Israel believes has to be done in order to secure the country’s safety. Anything less than eradicating the terrorist organization there will be deemed by many as a win of the war by Hamas.
At the end of the day, Biden’s policies remain contradictory. The administration’s attempt to balance unwavering support for Israel’s war efforts, along with defense for future Iranian and Hezbollah attacks with humanitarian considerations for Gaza’s civilians, impacts negotiations, Israel’s military actions and civilian safety. As the war continues, finding a coherent path forward remains a challenge. Is the American president up to dealing with it?
The post Joe Biden’s Contradictions Are Hurting Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians

US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their land, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state,” before correcting himself.
While the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu’s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.
Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty.”
The kingdom said it valued “brotherly” states’ rejection of Netanyahu’s remarks.
“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” it said.
Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza has been upended by Tuesday’s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
Arab states have roundly condemned Trump’s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war that Israel has been waging against the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.
Trump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalizing ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
The post Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss what it described as “serious” developments for Palestinians, according to a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry on Sunday.
The summit comes amid regional and global condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
The post Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home

Relatives hug a released Thai hostage, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, as the hostages arrive in Thailand following their release, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, February 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
When Surasak Rumnao, 31, left his home in Thailand’s rural Udon Thani province three years ago to go across the world to the southern Israeli town of Yesha for agriculture work, his family never imagined they would lose touch with him for over a year when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in October 2023.
He and four others were reunited with their families this weekend after their release from captivity in Gaza.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted more than 250 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, in their October 2023 attack on Israel.
During the attack, Hamas terrorists killed more than 40 Thais and kidnapped 31 Thai laborers, some of whom died in captivity, according to the Thai government. Later that year, the first group of Thai hostages was returned.
Surasak’s mother, Khammee Rumnao, was relieved that her son was not mistreated and has returned to his home, about 620 km(385 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangkok.
“He mainly got to eat bread, he was looked after well and was fed all three meals (each day). He got to shower, he was looked after well,” Khammee said, and that he ate whatever his captors had.
Her son does not plan to go back and wants to use the knowledge he gained in his agricultural work in Israel at their home, she said.
His grandparents and other relatives came to their home to welcome him home.
His stepfather, Janda Prachanan, was elated.
“I couldn’t find the words to describe how happy I am, that my son is safe and finally home,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the other returnees, dressed in winter jackets, were met with tears of joy from their families who were waiting for their arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“We are all deeply touched to come back to our birthplace … to be standing here,” said Pongsak Thaenna, one of the returnees said. “I don’t know what else to say, we are all truly thankful.”
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who met the hostages in Israel after their release last week, expressed relief.
“This is emotional … to come back to the embrace of their families,” he said. “We never gave up and this was the fruit of that.”
Before the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, making them one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the October 7 attacks.
The workers primarily come from Thailand’s northeastern region, an area comprising villages and farming communities that is among the poorest in the country.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said a Thai national is still believed to be held captive by Hamas.
“We still have hope and continue to work to bring them back,” Maris said, adding that this includes the bodies of two deceased Thai nationals.
The post Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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