Biden Deals Blow to Israel

On Tuesday 12 December, US President Joe Biden dealt a serious blow to Israel in their war against Hamas when he said that Israel is losing international support due to its "indiscriminate bombing" in the Gaza Strip. Use of the word ‘indiscriminate’ in that comment equates Israel’s targeting with that of Hamas and other terrorists who fire rockets indiscriminately at Israel.

That makes it a surprising statement from Israel’s strongest ally, given the great lengths to which the Israel Defence Forces go to minimize civilian casualties. It has been pounced upon by many media organisations when interviewing Israeli spokespeople.

It may be even more surprising when considered from a legal perspective. According to international lawyers quoted by i News, it seems that Biden’s statement could be used as evidence of US complicity in war crimes. And it is now the second time the US president has used the phrase, having previously done so in a press briefing on 16th November.

CNN analysis provided by Stephen Collinson claims this indicates unprecedented tensions between the White House and Israel’s government, as Joe Biden is experiencing a significant political price for standing with Israel. The big question for the US is whether that support will isolate them from their friends and seriously compromise their own national security.

However, in a press briefing on Wednesday, US spokesman John Kirby tried to soften the impact of Joe Biden’s comments saying:

"We have every expectation that Israel will do exactly what they say they’re doing which is to continue to go after the terrorist leaders and to do so in a way that minimises civilian harm . . . [The president] was expressing concerns that we continue to see civilian casualties in Gaza and, again, that we want to make sure that, as they work to minimise, that they actually have those kinds of results, that they are able to minimise civilian casualties."