On May 5, news of Hamas’ acceptance of a ceasefire agreement spread like wildfire across Gaza, sending people into the streets to celebrate. Their joy was short-lived, however, as Israel continued its deadly ground assault on Rafah.
After being accused for weeks by Israel and the United States that its position was hindering progress in ceasefire negotiations, Hamas made a strategic decision with which it effectively outmaneuvered its enemy. The ball is now in Israel’s court and, by extension, in the court of its main donor, the United States.
If a lasting ceasefire agreement is not reached, Israel will be exposed as the true saboteur of peace, and the United States as a dishonest broker.
It already appears that the two men are playing a game, trying to sell unconvincing narratives to global audiences that Israel was unaware of the deal offered to Hamas and that the United States opposes an Israeli operation on Rafah.
Despite the audience’s appearance of surprise and bewilderment, it may well be that they knew and expected what would happen next.
Israel claimed it was rejecting the deal because it was unaware of the new provisions it contained, and yet CIA chief Bill Burns, who was involved in the negotiations, was reportedly informed the Israeli side. And given President Joe Biden’s “unwavering” support for Israel, it seems highly unlikely that his administration will negotiate a deal that does not further its ally’s interests.
The United States, for its part, has said it strongly opposes an Israeli ground offensive on Gaza. And yet the operation began and the Biden administration’s response was to downplay it, not denounce it. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was not a full invasion that everyone expected, but a “limited” operation, thus indirectly indicating that the United States was aware of Israeli plans.
In this context, it is important to recall another “limited” operation to which the United States would have opposed and which turned out to be less “limited”. At the start of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Menachem Begin, then Israeli Prime Minister, claimed that the Israeli army would only enter 40 km (25 miles) of Lebanese territory, to “eliminate” the positions of the groups Palestinian armed forces who had bombed northern Israel.
Not surprisingly, Israeli troops did not stop at 40 km and advanced the 110 km (68 miles) to the capital Beirut and captured it. Trying to cover up its deception, the Israeli government claimed that the full-scale invasion was necessary because of the “situation on the ground” – a weak justification that even then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig say again. The Israelis only withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
Throughout this Israeli war on Gaza, there has been no public warning from the United States that Israel has heeded. It is indeed difficult to know to what extent such warnings are just a means of putting pressure on the Israeli government while continuing to support its every move. In this sense, we must take with caution the information according to which the Biden administration is delaying a delivery of weapons to Israel to put pressure on the latter to put an end to the large-scale invasion of Rafah.
In the context of this so-called “limited” operation, it is worrying that the United States is giving tacit consent to the occupation by Israeli forces of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
The Israeli takeover of the Palestinian crossing has not only caused panic in Gaza, where people are terrified that much-needed aid will be completely blocked, but it has also deeply worried Cairo, which has condemned the ‘attack.
Egypt has repeatedly warned in the past that any presence of Israeli military troops on the Palestinian side of the Philadelphia Corridor constitutes a violation of the Camp David Accords and the Philadelphia Protocol, according to which this area must be demilitarized.
The Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt was negotiated and guaranteed by the United States in 1979. It was later amended by the Philadelphia Protocol in 2005 after Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Egypt respected the terms of the agreement, but today Israel does not appear to be doing so.
The Biden administration may think it’s succeeding in deflecting criticism by portraying Israel’s invasion of Rafah as ‘limited,’ but occupying the crossing in violation of a U.S.-backed treaty sends a message clear that the United States and Israel have no qualms about doing so. walk all over the agreements they signed.
This comes on top of Washington’s efforts to shield Israel from the legal consequences of its atrocities in Gaza, thereby undermining international law. US officials have called UN Security Council resolutions “non-binding”, condemned the International Court of Justice for recognizing the situation in Gaza as a “plausible” genocide, and threatened the International Criminal Court with sanctions if it issued arrest warrants against Israeli officials.
As things stand, Biden is poised to lose the November election and leave behind a terrible legacy: overseeing a genocide in Gaza and undermining the international legal order to pave the way for more atrocities and to more impunity.
It is not yet too late to change course. Biden must put real and decisive pressure on Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire agreement with Hamas, fully withdraw from Gaza, lift the siege, and allow full humanitarian access and the start of reconstruction.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.