Politico report: Senior US officials have told their Israeli counterparts the Biden administration would support a Rafah operation as long as Israel avoids a large-scale invasion.
Israel National News Mar 14, 2024, 3:51 AM (GMT+2)
Senior US officials have told their Israeli counterparts the Biden administration would support Israel going after high-value Hamas targets in and underneath Rafah, as long as Israel avoids a large-scale invasion that could fracture the alliance, Politico reported on Wednesday.
The Biden administration is still grappling with what kind of Israeli military operation it can accept in Rafah, the report said, with US officials knowing full well Israel wants to eliminate Hamas’ four battalions in the southern Gaza city on Egypt’s border.
President Joe Biden’s “red line,” which he drew over the weekend, is that Israel should no longer pursue a campaign without credible civilian protection plans in place, according to Politico.
But Israel’s military still has yet to produce such a plan. Two Israeli officials said the military is still developing ideas to ensure the safety of 1.3 million Gazans in and around the city, many of whom fled there to avoid the war.
On Saturday, during an interview with MSNBC, Biden said that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would be a red line but also said in the same breath that crossing it would not result in punitive measures against Israel.
“It is a red line, but I am never going to leave Israel,” Biden said. “The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons.”
Speaking at a news briefing on Tuesday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tried to walk back those comments.
“The President didn’t make any declarations or pronouncements or announcements. The red line came up in a question he was responding to that question. I think he gave a full answer to it,” Sullivan told reporters.
Politico reported earlier this week that Biden would consider conditioning some future military aid to Israel if there was a major campaign in Rafah, Sullivan said that and other similar stories were “uninformed speculation.”
Politico noted that keeping the operation to a surgical size would potentially avoid that move and help stave off criticisms from congressional Democrats and other pro-Palestinian Arab voices.
I noticed they never said a word to Ukraine about how to battle Russia. All Biden and the other criminals did was keep sending billions.
How is the campaign size guestimated?
Does it include bombing Hamas battalions before and during the campaign?
Is this some kind of Obiden red line that can be varied according to someone’s feeling?
What is this ominous alliance that could be fractured and how?
Please feel free to respond…