Joe Biden has acted without restraint during his last two months in office, and Israel has suffered as a result of his Rambo behavior.
Joe Biden is in a unique and dangerous period of his long political career. If he had won reelection or even if Kamala Harris had won, Biden would have been forced to keep an even keel on his actions as his term would effectively continue. However, with Donald Trump coming into the White House shortly, it seems that Joe has simply decided to do whatever he wants. Some examples:
*He loosened immigration requirements if there is still something there to loosen.
*He gave Ukraine a green light to use US long-range missiles against targets deep in Russia and possibly plunge the world into a much larger war.
*He, like Obama before him, has used his waning days to stick it to Israel.
Concerning the latter, according to Ted Cruz, Biden threatened Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu that if Israel did not accept a ceasefire with Lebanon, the US itself would call for a complete arms embargo at the UN. This step goes even further than Obama’s waning days of betrayal regarding settlements. Additionally, he pushed Israel to have its banks recognize Palestinian banks for another year. Until now, the recognition was monthly, and once it ends, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be out of business, as it does its business—including paying terrorists—in shekels. And finally, to show his utter contempt, he walked out Saturday from a bookstore holding a book accusing Israel of colonialist conquest over the Palestinians.
Cruz's claim about the Lebanon ceasefire appears to be true. I was shocked when, during his official announcement, Bibi came right out and said that by agreeing to the ceasefire, Israel would receive the weapons that it needed against Iran. Bibi all but said that Joe Biden and his crew were holding up weapons that Israel needs. Until now, both governments have downplayed any such delays as being false or due to some technical glitches. But here it was, with Bibi saying that by being forced into a ceasefire, Israel would finally get what the US had promised.
As to the ceasefire, I am glad that Israel is interpreting it in its own favor. In a previous ceasefire negotiated by that empty suit John Kerry, he failed to tell Hamas about the ceasefire. When two Israeli soldiers entered a tunnel, Hamas terrorists killed them, and to this day, the family of Hadar Goldin is still waiting for their son’s body’s return. Israel has been continuing with its work of destroying infrastructure, shooting to keep civilians out of southern Lebanon, and attacking armed terrorists. This is not your grandfather’s ceasefire. Israel is undoubtedly trying to hold out until Biden takes that giant ice cream truck back to Delaware. Then, with Donald Trump at the helm, Israel can adequately address Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza.
An ideal solution in Lebanon would completely defang Hezbollah and allow for a return to a normal country that is no longer a threat to Israel. As to Iran, its nuclear capabilities, as well as its funding of all of the terror groups attacking Israel, must be blunted. Most expect at least one more Israeli attack on the Islamic regime. As to Gaza, the best outcome is much harder to define.
I had an opportunity to speak with a close friend who has been at war since the very first day of the attack on Israel. He has been out of Gaza a bit, and last week, he had the longest time away from the army since the beginning of the war. Being a commander, he spends much of his “free” time checking up on his soldiers in Gaza or calling on wounded soldiers to see how they are coming along. He confided in me that they are doing very well in fighting Hamas and destroying infrastructure. But he asked, like many soldiers before him: Where does this effort lead? While a soldier may buy into the general goal of destroying an enemy, he may wonder how his efforts in fighting that enemy will bring a long-term solution. And in Gaza, that question is unanswered even by the most prominent policy wizards in the world.
As I wrote previously, Anwar Sadat turned down taking Gaza as part of the return of Sinai in the Camp David Accords. When the war started, no country wanted to take a single Palestinian refugee for a simple reason: wherever they go, they destroy the local political environment. Look at the ones protesting in the West: have they done anything positive? Have they accomplished anything? Blocking the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade gives them nothing, but they only want to take away from those who wish to enjoy the spectacle. So, let’s say that the IDF declares victory over Hamas, whatever that means on the ground. What comes next? Israel has carved out large military areas in the south (Rafah), center (Netzarim), and north (Jabalyah). What happens after large-scale military activity ends?
There are some very bad options, like letting the PA run Gaza. The mistake with the Oslo Accords was the assumption that the Palestinians wanted peace and that the best way to achieve it was to let them run their own affairs. But just as Yasir Arafat used his return to Ramallah to build up his military and ignore the needs of his people, so too the PA in Gaza would simply let arms flow back into the Strip for another attack a decade from now. This would be the same outcome if Gaza were reconnected to Egypt, the source of all of the weapons used on October 7th, 2023, and beyond. For example, the UN would, like in south Lebanon, turn a blind eye to rearming. The only ones who would be reliable are the ones I would never want there: American troops. They alone might be willing to fight efforts to rearm, but I would not want a single American soldier harmed in that theater.
So, the bleak picture is that Israel will probably have to stay in Gaza for years. There will need to be a denazification of the Hamas infrastructure. My soldier friend said that UNRWA was the best thing ever to happen to Hamas: it took care of all civilian needs, while Hamas could focus on getting ready for war with Israel. I said that no concrete or metal could enter Gaza, as it would go for tunnels before being used for rebuilding houses. He noted that many of the tunnels they encountered were made of wood. So, in the end, the Gazans should live in tents and eat whatever is sent to them, and maybe in a decade, there can be an arrangement where the Gaza Strip can be rebuilt without any concomitant threat to Israel and its citizens. My dear friend is in a difficult situation: he wants a solution for the day after. I told him that there simply may be none because the other side will never play by the same rules you hold by.
Joe Biden is using his final days in office to stick it to Israel. The country and its leaders await Donald Trump's return and freedom of action against the threats it faces. When history is written, Joe Biden will be a minor footnote: a small, bitter man who, in his dementia, served as a fig leaf for his staff of left-wing ideologues.