OPINION:
President Biden and his closest advisers — Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his top adviser on the Middle East, Brett McGurk — have all been trying to pressure the Israelis into a bad deal. Their purpose — joining Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and other Arab nations — is to end the war between Israel and the terrorists of Hamas before Israel can destroy Hamas.
The deal — which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has so far rejected — promises several things. First, the Saudis would recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Israel, which Israel has always refused because of their support for the Palestinians. Second, the Israelis would help form a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Third, the Israelis would withdraw their troops from Gaza and, in return, Hamas would supposedly release the remaining Israeli hostages they hold, who number about 136 men, women and children.
The European Union, always seeking relevance, is also involved. It has met with several Arab leaders and said it wants to impose consequences on Israel for refusing the two-state solution. The Israelis apparently aren’t taking the EU effort seriously. Not that they should.
There are several problems with the proposals, which should mean that no deal can be reached at this point. First, the Israelis want the Arab states to take over Gaza and rebuild it. But the Arabs are too smart for that. They don’t want any responsibility for Gaza. Not only don’t they want to pay to rebuild Gaza, but they also don’t want to be responsible for the inevitable revival of Hamas and its threat to Israel.
The deal also proposes to somehow revive the Palestinian Authority — under Mahmoud Abbas or his successor — to take over the Gaza Strip.
The Israelis, as you would expect, don’t want to leave the Gaza Strip before they destroy Hamas and capture or kill its leaders. The Hamas attack on Israel — which took over 1,200 Israeli lives and about 240 hostages — requires nothing less.
From the Middle East Media Research Institute, we learned that Hamas leader Khaled Mashal said only a few days ago that Hamas rejects the idea of a two-state solution. “Our goal is clear: A Palestinian state from the river to the sea, from north to south,” he declared.
There is no bargaining with Hamas. Their power and presence in Gaza have to be eradicated before Israel can be even partially safe from them.
Nevertheless, Mr. Biden and his Arab allies propose a three-stage deal in which Israel would release Palestinians convicted of terrorism and withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the gradual release of Israeli captives. The Israelis would have no assurance of the hostages’ eventual release, and Hamas would remain in power in Gaza. It would amount to an Israeli surrender.
Mr. Biden is sticking to his position that any peace deal has to guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian nation in Gaza and the West Bank. His delusion is that a Palestinian state would end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. As Mr. Mashal said, his terrorists will accept nothing short of the demise of Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu issued a statement on Jan. 21 in which he said: “Let it be clear: I utterly reject the Hamas monsters’ capitulation terms.
“Hamas is demanding, in exchange for the release of our hostages, the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of the murders and rapists of the [Hamas’ “elite” terrorist group] and leaving Hamas in place.
“Were we to agree to this — our soldiers would have fallen in vain. Were we to agree to this — we would not be able to ensure the security of our citizens. We would be unable to safely restore the evacuees to their homes and the next October 7 would be only a question of time. I am not prepared to accept such a mortal blow to the security of Israel; therefore, we will not agree to this.”
So what in the world does Mr. Biden seek if not an Israeli surrender? Just what is he doing other than displaying a weakness that no American president can be permitted to have?
Mr. Biden’s weakness is displayed across the Middle East. For example, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh responded to a question last week on why the U.S. hasn’t dealt decisively with the Houthis’ near-constant attacks in the Red Sea. She said that “it’s really up to the Houthis when they make the calculation to stop” attacking.
Seriously? We have made several minor strikes on the Houthis. Two Navy SEALs were lost intercepting a shipment of arms from Iran to the Houthis. Isn’t that more than enough to deal with the Houthis decisively and to strike back at their Iranian enablers?
It’s not enough for Mr. Biden. He is trying to take the path of least risk and to avoid responsibility for the outcome. He doesn’t want to antagonize Iran or any of our real enemies in the Middle East. It’s much easier to pressure the Israelis into a deal that will clearly result in a continuing conflict between them and the Palestinians.
• 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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