While it was announced that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will again participate in a session of the Board of Directors of the Israeli war in Gaza and will call for a humanitarian truce and will give top priority to the issue of prisoners held by Hamas, circles close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed concern over reports of the advice as President Joe Biden is forced to resign.
Far-right circles have stated that “the intimate embrace that Biden showed Netanyahu at Ben Gurion airport was truly a suffocating bear hug”, and that behind this embrace hide surprising demands and direct interference, not only in the management of the war, but also in the management of the country.
These sources confirmed that, although the White House has disavowed this publication, American practice confirms that “there is no smoke without fire” and that Biden, like the majority of Israelis, has become convinced that Netanyahu is prolonging the war for reasons that they need. personal and partisan interests, and that this trend causes serious damage to Biden’s electoral battle. Therefore, Blinken came to discuss the prevailing differences between the two governments and to make a change in Israeli war tactics, such as agreeing to a several-hour truce, doubling the entry of humanitarian relief materials, including fuel into the Gaza Strip , and put the issue of prisoners at the top of the list of priorities.
Boiling state
It is interesting to note that the Israeli political arena entered a state of boiling, in the night between Wednesday and Thursday, due to the report published on the American website “Politico”, which states that “despite the Israeli-American understanding of the objectives of the war, especially the overthrow of the Hamas regime, the administration US President Joe Biden believes that there are mishandled issues that harm Israel and American interests, and added that the president believes that Benjamin Netanyahu has only one limited time in his position as prime minister of the Israeli government.
The discussion on this news lasted a long time and political journalists added more information. They revealed that “American envoys spoke about the issue with many central figures in Israel, including members of the Likud party and a central religious figure (i.e. Aryeh Deri, head of the Shas party of Eastern religious Jews).”
The fundamental question
What has pushed Americans to speak this way is not just what is being published on Israeli streets about no-confidence in Netanyahu, but rather the fear that he is trying to artificially prolong the war to stay in power. The website Politico, known for its close relationships in Congress and the White House, quoted an unnamed US official as saying: “The US administration believes Netanyahu will only have a limited term in office.” The official said: “The US administration’s expectations suggest that Netanyahu will remain in office for a few months, or at least until the end of the first phase of the war, despite the unpredictability of Israeli politics.” He added: “There is a process of self-consideration in Israeli society, but ultimately the primary responsibility lies with Netanyahu.”
The website confirmed it had three sources speaking on the matter. He said Netanyahu’s inevitable political fate was raised in recent White House meetings attended by Biden, according to two senior US administration officials. This includes discussions that have taken place since Biden returned from his visit to Israel two weeks ago, where he met Netanyahu and advised him to be careful in managing the war and not expand it.
I advised him to give preference to the two-state solution, to be aware of the importance of taking measures other than the goal of eliminating Hamas, and to guard against returning to the occupation of the Gaza Strip. The two US administration officials added: “Biden has gone so far as to be candid with Netanyahu on the issue, explicitly suggesting that he must appoint an interim representative and think about the lessons of the war that he will share with whoever succeeds him in office. .” He told him: “Even if this happened during the war, you should hand over the reins of government to your successor in a proper manner.”
Just speculation
However, the Politico website found a fourth source who denied this news or downplayed its importance, and said: “Another White House official downplayed the importance of these conversations about Netanyahu’s future, and said said it was just speculation, and stressed that the administration’s focus is squarely on supporting Netanyahu.” Israel’s security. But he explained that Netanyahu’s “shaky grip” on power is always “in the background” during the internal talks of the Biden administration on the Middle East. While the spokesperson of the National Security Council at the White House, Adrian Watson, denied the report as false, he stated: “What is stated in the report has not been discussed in the past, and was not discussed by the President today. “We are now focused on addressing the current crisis.” The US State Department declined to comment.
The site returns to confirm, despite the denial, that the political sources involved indicate that American officials have contacted a member of the Israeli “emergency government”, Benny Gantz, the former prime minister Naftali Bennett, and the leader of the opposition and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and held talks with them about the future. Politics is close to Israel.
Israeli reactions
One of the first Israeli reactions to this publication was to refrain from making any statements, neither by Netanyahu nor by other personalities, but the political correspondents who left war affairs and began investigating this publication returned with news which confirmed everything that had been published by the American site.
They added that at one point they also spoke with some figures from the same Likud party, led by Netanyahu, and heard the saying that “Netanyahu’s days in power are numbered.” They also spoke to a central religious figure of great importance, meaning Aryeh Deri, the head of the “Shas” party of Eastern religious Jews, considered very close to Netanyahu to the point of involving him in the war and board of the cabinet even though he is not a minister . Deri was told after the war that the Netanyahu era was over.
According to commentators on “Channel 12,” “Channel 11,” and “Channel 13,” the context of the American position stemmed from Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war, and his refusal to announce any truce, even for a short period, until aid is brought and the opportunity is given to reach an agreement on the issue of the release of the hostages through a prisoner exchange. The Americans expressed this concern in conversations with Israeli figures. They asked Gantz what influence he had on the decisions of the War Administration Council.
Decision of the Minister of Finance
There was a battle in the Israeli government on Wednesday and Thursday over Finance Minister Pazlal Smotrich’s decision to reject the security services’ request to release tax and customs funds to the Palestinian Authority. While Defense Minister Yoav Galant called for the release of these funds, stating that the Authority plays an important role in preventing the expansion of solidarity activities with Gaza in the West Bank, and contributes to preventing terrorist operations against Israel, and not we should punish her for At this point Smotrich responded that the Palestinian Authority is hostile to Israel and is waging a ferocious campaign of incitement against Israel.
It seems that this discussion is linked to what Politico published. Netanyahu surprised his ministers by saying the government must begin deliberations on the fate of Gaza after the war. Just a few days ago, several Israeli plans calling for the deportation of all Gazans to the Sinai were made public, including two drawn up by Netanyahu’s close associates. Netanyahu explained to his ministers that it is necessary to make thoughtful decisions on the issue and that irresponsible leaks must not be allowed, especially since these leaks concern proposals that were not decided in any cabinet session.
Political sources said Netanyahu took this step after realizing that the US administration was concerned about the deportation plans and the angry Egyptian and Jordanian response to them. He added that Assistant Secretary Blinken, Barbara Leaf, arrived in the country to prepare for her second wartime visit, which will take place on Friday.
I called for the Israeli position to be clearly defined and for an end to the leaking of information about countries in the region. He said the war should have a clear political objective, so that Israel’s friends know where to go to support it. Washington hopes that interested parties will reach agreement on a wording that opens the door to hope for a political process leading to a two-state solution.