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The big issues dividing the US and Israel as the Gaza war bleeds into 2024
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The official “readouts” describing conversations between world leaders are usually dry, information-deficient affairs, but the ones between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been telling a story of diverging views on Israel’s war in Gaza.
Their most recent conversation, on Dec. 23, is an example: According to the Israeli readout, the Israeli leader “expressed his appreciation for the U.S. position at the U.N. Security Council,” referring to the Biden administration’s removal of calls for a ceasefire from a U.N. Security Council resolution. “The Prime Minister made it clear that Israel would continue the war until all of its goals have been achieved.”
The White House readout suggested why Netanyahu felt he had to make it “clear” that Israel would not stop until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 remaining hostages abducted by the terror group on Oct. 7 are returned: Biden wants Netanyahu to change tactics.
“The leaders discussed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to include its objectives and phasing,” Biden’s version said. “The President emphasized the critical need to protect the civilian population including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting.”
Biden, while maintaining his opposition to any ceasefire that leaves Hamas intact, has called Israel’s bombing in Gaza “indiscriminate.” His top officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have said that Israel risks losing support if it does not shift to more targeted warfare.
Both leaders are under pressure. Biden is facing Democrats on the left, and also surprisingly Republicans on his right, who want him to condition aid to Israel. Netanyahu’s popularity in Israel has plummeted and he needs his far-right flank to survive in office to avoid a crushing electoral defeat.
Here are some of the factors that could shape the Biden-Netanyahu relationship as we head into a new year.
That $14 billion
On Oct. 19, less than two weeks after Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 people in Israel, abducted more than 240 and brutalized thousands more, Biden asked Congress for $14 billion in emergency assistance for Israel, along with $60 billion for Ukraine for its war against Russian invaders.
The aid for Israel seemed an easy ask then: Republicans have become the most reflexively pro-Israel party in Congress, and within three days of Biden making the request, more than half of the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives backed Biden’s Israel strategy, in a letter signed by all 24 Jewish House Democrats.
Marching into 2024, the funding has yet to happen and the responsibility lies, unusually, with Republicans, who lead the House.
The first obstacle was the removal of the Israel-friendly speaker, California’s Kevin McCarthy, leaving the House unable to function. He was replaced by Louisiana’s Mike Johnson. The House approved the Israel portion, but for the first time ever, the body conditioned aid to Israel — on cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. Far-right Republicans engineered McCarthy’s ouster for compromising with Biden on spending bills, and Johnson has no taste for playing nice with the president, even when Israel is involved.
Conditioning Israel aid on IRS cuts guaranteed that the bill was dead on arrival in the Senate, which is led by Democrats. There, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Jewish New York Democrat, tried to craft a new assistance bill but was met with a new headwind. Republicans in the body are now using the filibuster to keep the bill from advancing unless it includes new protections on the Mexican border.
Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Republican senators in the Dec. 7 vote that blocked the assistance from advancing. The Jewish Vermont independent, an unofficial leader of U.S. progressives, wants Biden to condition aid to Israel on how it conducts the war.
Calls for a ceasefire
Sanders still stops short of calling for a permanent ceasefire, but a growing number of Democrats do — some 63 so far, including a number of the Jewish Democrats who back in October were backing Biden’s Israel policies.
The number of Palestinians killed since Israel launched its counterstrikes has topped 20,000, according to Palestinian sources, although Israel estimates that a third of these are combatants. Nonetheless, as casualties mount in the Gaza Strip, expect more pressure on Biden from the left.
The politics
Axios reported this week that Biden, in that Dec. 23 phone call, told Netanyahu that he expected him to show the same fortitude in resisting pressure from his right wing that Biden has shown in ignoring his left flank. Biden wants Israel to build up the Palestinian Authority after the war is over so it can replace Hamas; Netanyahu has said that is not an option.
One problem is the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited governance powers in the West Bank. Biden wants Netanyahu to resume transferring taxes to the Palestinian Authority, which Netanyahu resists as long as it continues to compensate the families of Palestinians who have attacked Israelis.
“This conversation is over,” Axios reported Biden as saying after he told Netanyahu that he needed to show the same level of leadership Biden is showing defending Israel.
Support for Biden’s Israel policy among Democrats has plummeted, and growing numbers of Arab-American and Muslim voters are saying they will stay away from the polls next November, when Biden is likely to once again face Donald Trump in a presidential election. That could cost Biden a key state, Michigan, where there is a substantial Arab-American population.
As Biden heads into the presidential election, the politics of the war are being seen in a phenomenon unimaginable a decade ago: Mainstream Democrats are running against the mainstream pro-Israel line. In California’s Senate race, Rep. Barbara Lee is seeking to set herself apart from the frontrunners, fellow Democratic representatives Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, by endorsing a ceasefire.
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, a moderate Jewish Democrat running a longshot presidential primary campaign against Biden, also endorses a ceasefire. It’s one of the few policy differences distinguishing him from the incumbent.
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The post The big issues dividing the US and Israel as the Gaza war bleeds into 2024 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Insists US Will ‘Take’ Gaza, Jordan’s King Stays Mum on Palestinian Relocation During White House Visit
US President Donald Trump meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House in Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump insisted that America will “take” Gaza and that other countries in the Middle East will absorb the Palestinians currently residing in the enclave while meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the White House on Tuesday.
“There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza. No reason to buy. There is nothing to buy,” Trump said.
The president suggested that the damage incurred by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has corroded Gaza’s value and that the United States will simply seize the enclave. However, he did not detail how he plans to facilitate or finance the reconstruction of Gaza.
“It’s Gaza. It’s a war-torn area. We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it,” Trump added.
Nonetheless, the president vowed that the US will energize Gaza’s economy and turn the territory into a “diamond” and “tremendous asset” for the Middle East. Trump maintained that Gaza possesses the potential to become a “great economic development” for the region, touting its scenic location on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
However, the president lamented that seemingly “every 10 years” Gaza erupts into explosive warfare, resulting in “death and destruction” for its civilians.
Trump added that he believes “99 percent” that the United States could strike an agreement with Egypt to relocate the residents of Gaza, where the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas ruled before the war and remains the strongest faction.
When asked what he thought of Trump’s ambitions to transfer Palestinian civilians to Egypt, Abdullah revealed that Egypt and other Arab countries are planning to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss the future of Gaza. Abdullah refused to speak extensively about Trump’s stated goal of removing Palestinians from Gaza, advising reporters to “not get ahead of ourselves” and wait for Arab countries to deliberate about the matter.
“It’s hard to make this work in a way that’s good for everybody,” Abdullah said.
Though the Jordanian king would not commit to taking in large numbers of Palestinians, he said Jordan would be willing to “take 2,000 children that are cancer children or are in [a] very ill state” while Arab countries “wait for the Egyptians to present their plan on how we can work with the president to work on Gaza challenges.”
During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House last week, Trump called on Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states in the region to take in Palestinians from Gaza after nearly 16 months of war between Israel and the Hamas. Arab leaders have adamantly rejected Trump’s proposal.
Last week, the US president expressed similar sentiments as he did on Tuesday, saying that the US would “take over” the Gaza Strip to build the war-torn Palestinian enclave back up. However, many members of the US Congress across both parties pushed back on Trump’s declaration, accusing him of endangering American troops, destabilizing the Middle East, and floating an ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza. Trump has also stated that Palestinians would not have the “right to return” to Gaza after being relocated and said no US troops would be needed for his plan without elaborating.
Following his meeting with Trump, Abdullah took to social media to call for a permanent end to the war in Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state.
“This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
“Achieving just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability. This requires US leadership. President Trump is a man of peace. He was instrumental in securing the Gaza ceasefire. We look to US and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds,” the Jordanian king added.
The post Trump Insists US Will ‘Take’ Gaza, Jordan’s King Stays Mum on Palestinian Relocation During White House Visit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Bowdoin College Clears ‘Gaza Encampment’
Anti-Zionist Bowdoin College students storming the Smith Union administrative building on the evening of Feb. 6, 2025, to occupy it in protest of what they said are the college’s links to Israel. Photo: Screenshot
Bowdoin College in Maine has negotiated an end to an anti-Zionist group’s occupation of an administrative building without acceding to any of its demands for a boycott of Israel, The Bowdoin Orient reported on Monday.
The group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)had installed an encampment inside Smith Union on Thursday night in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposing that the US “take over” the Gaza Strip and transform it into a hub for tourism and economic dynamism. The roughly 50 students who resided inside the building vowed not to leave until the Bowdoin officials agree to adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Following the action, Bowdoin officials promptly moved to deescalate the situation by counseling the students to mind the “gravity of situation” in which they placed themselves, with senior associate dean Katie Toro-Ferrari warning that their behavior “could put them on the path where they are jeopardizing their ability to remain as Bowdoin students.” No sooner had it sent this communication than it began issuing temporary suspensions to students who rejected appeals to leave Smith Union and return to normal student life.
“You will be placed on temporary suspension, effective immediately, pending a college disciplinary process,” Bowdoin vice president Jim Hoppe wrote to the protesters in a letter, copies of which were sent to their parents. “During your immediate suspension, you may not attend your Spring 2025 courses … Your family will receive a copy of this letter. This temporary status will continue until further notice.”
Facing threats of severer sanctions, SJP agreed to vacate Smith Union on Monday and shared that they had issued a plea for mercy in discussions with college officials which called for them to “understand a context of good faith for the students who have engaged in this action.” By that time, several students had already left the building, according to the Orient.
Republicans in Washington, DC have said that disruptive and extremist political activity on college campuses “will no longer be tolerated in the Trump administration.” Meanwhile, the new US president has enacted a slew of policies aimed at reining in disruptive and discriminatory behavior.
Continuing work started during his first administration — when Trump issued Executive Order 13899 to ensure that civil rights law apply equally Jews — Trump’s recent “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism” calls for “using all appropriate legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise … hold to account perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.” The order also requires each government agency to write a report explaining how it can be of help in carrying out its enforcement. Another major provision of the order calls for the deportation of extremist “alien” student activists, whose support for terrorist organizations, intellectual and material, such as Hamas contributed to fostering antisemitism, violence, and property destruction.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Bowdoin College Clears ‘Gaza Encampment’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Rebuffs Trump’s ‘Worthless’ Call for Israel to Resume War if Terror Group Refuses to Release Hostages
Then-US President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, Jan. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Hamas has rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s warning that he’ll “let hell break out” if the Palestinian terrorist group does not release all the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that the American leader’s threats are “worthless and only complicate matters.”
“Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to get the prisoners back,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhr told multiple press agencies, referring to the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal between the terrorist group and Israel. “The language of threats is worthless and only complicates matters.”
On Monday, Trump advised Israel to cancel the ceasefire and said he would “let hell break out” if Hamas refused to release the remaining hostages. Trump’s comments echoed statements made by his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, last month that the White House would support Israel resuming the war in Gaza if Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement.
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock … I would say, cancel it [the hostage deal] and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday, and if they’re not returned — all of them — not in dribs and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two — Saturday at 12 o’clock. And after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out.”
Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s comments came after Hamas announced on Monday that it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over alleged violations of the ceasefire deal. Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida claimed that Israel has prevented Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, conducted strikes throughout the Gaza Strip, and impeded the delivery of humanitarian goods.
“The resistance leadership has closely monitored the enemy’s violations and its failure to uphold the terms of the agreement,” Obeida said.
The Israel Defense Forces has insisted that its strikes were conducted for defensive purposes, saying that its soldiers have “operated to distance suspects who posed a threat to them in different areas of the Gaza Strip.”
“The IDF is committed to fully implementing the conditions of the agreement for the return of the hostages,” the military wrote in a statement, adding that their forces are “prepared for any scenario and will continue to take any necessary actions to thwart immediate threat to IDF soldiers.”
Meanwhile, Israel said last week that 12,600 trucks of aid had arrived in Gaza since the beginning of the deal on Jan. 19.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in the neighboring enclave. The conflict raged for nearly 16 months until both sides agreed to last month’s ceasefire and hostage-release deal, the first phase of which is set to last six weeks.
Under phase one, Hamas agreed to free a total of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, and in exchange, Israel would release over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving multiple life sentences for terrorist activity. Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza will stop as negotiators work on agreeing to a second phase of the agreement, which is expected to include Hamas releasing all remaining hostages held in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
So far, 16 of the 33 hostages in Gaza have been released within the first phase of the ceasefire.
The three latest hostages were released on Saturday. Their strikingly thin and emaciated bodies sparked international outrage about Hamas’s treatment of the hostages, with Trump comparing the captives to Holocaust survivors.
The details of the second phase of the ceasefire are still being negotiated. However, Israel has reportedly presented the White House with a plan to advance the truce with Hamas.
The post Hamas Rebuffs Trump’s ‘Worthless’ Call for Israel to Resume War if Terror Group Refuses to Release Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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