Benjamin Netanyahu’s unequivocal opposition to the prospect of a Palestinian state affects the image of the Democratic president, who cannot hope to win re-election without winning states like Michigan, which has a community sensitive to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, Le reports. Monde, quoted by Rador Radio Romania.

A potentially dangerous countdown for Joe Biden is underway in the Middle East. Because renewed hope for a cease-fire in Gaza, accompanied by the release of Israeli hostages held there since October 7, hides the deterioration of his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the risk of failure in an area where he claims experience, diplomacy, established by decades of practice.

The twin bombings, triggered by the unprecedented killing of Israeli civilians by Hamas, followed by the carnage caused in Gaza by the unbridled violence of the Israeli response, renewed interest in Washington in the two-state solution, that is, the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Apart from the legitimacy of Palestinian claims, this seems to be a better guarantee of stability in the region than the status quo supported by Benjamin Netanyahu, which has led to the current tragedy.

That goal was lost sight of in the early years of a Democratic presidency known for its unconditional commitment to Israel, a testament to its age and political experience. In fact, the gulf had been widening for years between the younger generations of Democrats and the Jewish state, which was increasingly perceived as the oppressor of a minority.

Until October 7, the White House tried to normalize relations between Israel and the most important Arab state in the region – Saudi Arabia. The draft agreement mentioned the Palestinian issue, unlike previous agreements reached in 2020 with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, which did not make it a precondition.

The war changed everything. Saudi Arabia revived an initiative formulated in 2002 by Prince Abdullah, then regent, to link normalization of relations with Israel to the creation of Palestine based on 1967 borders with the consent of Washington, which would also balance a defense deal with Riyadh.

With the latter having to be ratified by the Senate before the presidential campaign begins on November 5, time is running out. Except that Benjamin Netanyahu (as well as his possible more moderate successor, Benny Gantz) and a large portion of Israelis don’t want to hear about the prospect of a Palestinian state.

The chief saboteur of the Oslo Accords from 1996 to 1999, during his first term as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu intends to do whatever it takes to topple the Democratic president. He is no doubt hoping for the eventual return to the White House of Donald Trump, whose one-sidedness in favor of Israel has largely contributed to the current debacle.

• Related: Anthony Blinken reiterates US opposition to any ‘re-occupation’ of Gaza after war

The red lines are broken

This undermining begins with the future he sees for Gaza after the current offensive. The Israeli plan, released on February 22, violates the red lines established by Joe Biden on November 18 in an article published in the Washington Post.

Assuring that his army will have to maintain its “operational freedom of action throughout the Gaza Strip, without time limits”, the Israeli prime minister envisages the de facto re-occupation of the narrow strip of land, further reduced by the creation of a buffer zone around its perimeter.

Israeli control extended to the border with Egypt and administration entrusted not to a “renewed” Palestinian Authority, as Joe Biden wants, but to individuals chosen according to Israeli criteria, also indicate his desire to challenge the American president.

A quick end to the hostilities is also out of the question, as the threatened ceasefire would only delay the planned offensive on Gaza’s last major city, Rafah, which the prime minister, who politically survived the dramatic October 7 fiasco, wanted for as long as the fighting continues . .

Joe Biden, however, has not been stingy with his support for Israel, supplying the bombs used to destroy Gaza and wipe out its population, sending two groups of aircraft to the Mediterranean to prevent the conflict from regionalizing, and bombing the Houthis in Yemen, who are blocking navigation in the Red Sea as a sign solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

America’s growing anger at Israel was reflected in a February 1 order imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, followed by a February 9 memorandum that tied future military aid to internationally recognized protections. civilians, and returning on February 23 to the historic position of the United States on the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered them “incompatible with international law”, in other words, declared them illegal.

Too little too late? Many Democrats are irritated by Washington’s refusal to view Israel’s behavior in the territories occupied since 1967, whether the open fire in Gaza or the smoldering fire in the West Bank, as a challenge to the international order based on the United States’ rules is emerging in other parts of the world.

This position is now synonymous with growing diplomatic isolation. The fact that Biden privately uses harsh epithets about Benjamin Netanyahu does not change anything. Apparently, Joe Biden risks paying a high price for his choice in the dramatic crisis unfolding in the Middle East.

The blank ballots cast in Michigan’s Democratic primary on February 27 were a direct warning. The incumbent cannot hope to win re-election in the contested state in November, home to a large community sensitive to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

Le Monde, (acquisition of Rador Radio Romania)

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