OPINION:
The Israeli invasion of Gaza, caused by the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorists’ attack that killed, tortured and raped Israeli citizens, may come to an end in a few weeks, or it may continue through March.
A war can’t be run on a timetable, but President Biden is keeping the heat on Israel’s government to end its Gaza operations, having set an arbitrary three-month deadline from the Oct. 7 attacks. In doing so, Mr. Biden is, in effect, protecting Hamas.
Mr. Biden is a consistent advocate of a “two-state” solution to the problems between Israel and the Palestinians. He is willfully ignorant of the obstacles to such an agreement, one of which is his own diplomacy.
There are many other obstacles to any peace between Israel and the Palestinians. First and foremost is that no one has enough credibility and political power to negotiate peace in the Gaza war, much less a historic “two-state” treaty. Regardless, peace is impossible because of the continuously malicious influence of Iran.
Hamas’ charter rejects any settlement with Israel, and the Israelis have vowed to kill all of the Hamas leadership. There can never be a peace agreement that includes only Israel and Hamas.
Who among the Palestinians can make a peace agreement with Israel that will last longer than it takes Hamas to recruit and resupply its terrorist troops?
Not the ossified Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who at 88 is even older than Mr. Biden. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both pushing successors to Mr. Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term nearly 19 years ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as a result of his administration’s failure to prevent the Oct. 7 attacks, is also too politically weak to make a peace agreement with the Palestinians. His government is fractured, and his principal political opponent, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, is bound to call for Mr. Netanyahu’s ouster as soon as the fighting in Gaza ends.
Israel’s international standing has been hugely reduced, mostly without justification, because of the number of civilian casualties it has caused in the latest war with Hamas. Though it can win the war in Gaza, Israel’s power is being whittled away by Mr. Biden’s inept diplomacy and by the posturing of leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Israel has said the war in Gaza will continue with or without international support.
Former President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords provided a path to peace in the region, but Mr. Biden neglected them before the Oct. 7 attack. Had he not done so — and brought Saudi Arabia, the most influential among them, into the accords — there could have been a chance to bring the most important Arab nations to the negotiating table. That opportunity ended when Hamas attacked Israel.
Overriding all of these facts is Iran’s support of Hamas and its other terrorist proxies. Iran reportedly gave financial assistance, arms and planning expertise to Hamas before its attack on Israel. Iran also supports Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist network that has been launching minor attacks on Israel since Oct. 7.
In addition, Iran supports and arms the Houthis of Yemen, who have been launching drone attacks against U.S. and other nations’ ships and against Israel itself. Last year, a Houthi drone and missile attack significantly damaged a Saudi oil facility. In November, Israel shot down a Houthi ballistic missile in space that was aimed at Israel.
There have been more than 90 attacks against U.S. troops and bases in Syria and Iraq, all perpetrated by Iranian-backed militias, since Oct. 17. Mr. Biden has authorized minor U.S. air attacks on militia facilities, but he remains silent on Iran’s responsibility for the Oct. 7 attacks. He will have to respond with deadly force if an American is killed in one of those attacks or by a Houthi attack from Yemen.
Mr. Biden has reduced U.S. and U.N. sanctions on Iran, which Mr. Trump had used to bring Iran’s economy to ruin. Mr. Biden has, for example, waived sanctions for Russian, Chinese and European companies to do “nonproliferation” work at Iranian nuclear sites. He has also waived sanctions for Iraq to buy electricity from Iran. He is powerless to stop Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, but he should impose sanctions — and not give any further waivers — against trade with Iran.
Mr. Biden won’t do that. He’s probably still thinking about a new nuclear weapons deal with Iran.
Iran is the biggest single obstacle to any significant peace agreement in the Middle East. It’s long past time for Mr. Biden to recognize that and act on it.
Iran has not provoked us severely enough to go to war against it, but its proxies are edging toward such a provocation, and it is Iran that must be held to account. Its proxy attacks on U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq haven’t yet killed any Americans. If any such attack results in the death of an American, Mr. Biden will have to do more than simply bomb random supply dumps of Iranian proxies.
As long as Iran is ruled by the ayatollahs, there can be no peace for Israel or any other nation in the Middle East.
• Jed Babbin is a national security and foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Times and contributing editor for The American Spectator.
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