The Ultimate Guide to the Biden Administration's Betrayal of Israel
A comprehensive timeline of the White House's post-Oct. 7 words and deeds eviscerating the claim it has Israel's back -- let alone America's
The notion that President Joe Biden is a stalwart supporter of Israel, let alone acting in the best interests of the U.S. in the Middle East, is and has been a complete and total canard.
This Big Lie, propagated by the administration and its mouthpieces, provides cover for what amounts to an anti-American plot to put the screws to Israel, as part and parcel of an effort to make the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, Iran, the regional hegemon.
Since Oct. 7th, a Holocaust-in-a-day perpetrated by Iran’s proxy Hamas, despite initial rhetoric to the contrary and the continued provision of munitions (for now), the Biden administration has shown in word and more importantly deed that it is doing everything it possibly can within political reason to slander, stymie, sabotage, and ultimately imperil the very existence of our chief ally in the Middle East.
What follows is an effort to chronicle the Biden administration’s treachery towards Israel, culminating of late in a press to force the Jewish state to effectively lose the war to Hamas, free hundreds if not thousands of jihadists, and reward a Palestinian Arab population overwhelmingly supportive of the Oct. 7 massacre and Hamas with a state in a bid to “sue for peace” with Iran.
This timeline should serve as the death knell of the false narrative that President Biden supports the Jewish state – and more fundamentally that he is representing the interests of the American people over those of our worst adversaries.
10/7/23: The very day in which Hamas executes the most deadly and barbaric attack on Israel in its modern history – raping, murdering, burning, mutilating, beheading, and taking hostage innocents totaling 1,200 dead and approximately 240 abducted – including among them ~40 Americans – U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs urges “all sides” including Israel “to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks.” It quickly deletes the message, but this reflexive response will prove revealing
10/8/23: Sec. of State Antony Blinken likewise tweets and then quickly deletes post encouraging Turkey’s “advocacy for a cease-fire”
State Dept. would reportedly issue a directive barring such rhetoric in public statements, but within months wholly obliterate that order.
The U.S. announces it is moving a carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean as part of a plan administration officials say aims to “deter[]…other states or non-state actors that might seek to widen this war” – not specifically Iran despite its menacing from the north. Nearly 100,000 Israelis will be displaced from the region. Meanwhile, evidence will suggest this show of force is as much about deterring Israel from striking Hezbollah and Iranian proxies, as those proxies from striking Israel, the U.S., and other allies and partners. Those proxies will launch an endless barrage of attacks undeterred in the coming months.
At the same time, the U.S. will feverishly work to de-link Iran from the Oct. 7 attack, and the aggression of its proxies more broadly
10/10/23: Politico reports U.S. officials call for Israel to respond to Oct. 7 attack in a “proportionate” manner, with Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer stressing “It is our advice that this war be conducted based on principles of international law.” Officials will restate this and similar lines endlessly in the coming weeks. The implication is that Israel, which boasts perhaps the most ethical and humanitarian-focused army in the history of mankind, would violate such standards.
10/11/23: As the Wall Street Journal will later report, with Israeli warplanes awaiting the order to strike Hezbollah as part of a multipronged attack, President Biden tells Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stand down.” Hezbollah will engage in numerous attacks subsequently, while again nearly 100,000 Israelis from the north will become refugees in their own land.
10/12/23: Five days after Oct. 7, Biden admin emphasizes “it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”
In a thinly-veiled warning, Sec. Blinken says in remarks after meeting with PM Netanyahu “how Israel does this matters. We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard – even when it’s difficult – and holding ourselves to account when we fall short… That’s why it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”
During his visit to Israel, where Blinken will become a perpetual presence, he meets with Brothers in Arms, which had served as the military wing of the resistance to PM Netanyahu during the judicial reform fight, as well as opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Blinken also says, in a line the admin will repeat ad nauseum, that “We know Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations to live with equal measures of security, freedom, justice, opportunity, and dignity.”
Beyond the fact Hamas was elected by Gazans, that Gazan civilians gleefully cheered on the Oct. 7 attack, and many were active participants in it, including holding hostages for months on end, polls will also show that Palestinian Arabs overwhelmingly support the Oct. 7 attack, genocide against the Jews, and favor Hamas over the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.
10/13/23: Six days after Oct. 7, State Dept. Spokesman Matthew Miller tweets that Sec. Blinken “reiterated that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights” – setting the stage for bolstering the PA to lead a future Palestinian state.
10/14/23: A week after Oct. 7, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stresses that Israel must act within rules of war and protect civilians.
The Washington Post will later report that after Sec. Austin’s visit to Israel, Biden NatSec and foreign policy team would become “increasingly concerned that a ground assault would turn into an open-ended quagmire” and begin to sour on a massive ground invasion.
10/15/23: President Biden starts to set down desired outcomes for Israel-Hamas War, calling it a “big mistake” if Israel were to occupy Gaza, and suggesting “there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state” post-war.
In a tweet, Joe Biden de-links “suffering” Palestinians from Hamas.
Admin officials suggest they will insist that Israel permit humanitarian aid during the course of any coming invasion – de facto resupply for Hamas, while as Israel national security analyst Caroline Glick notes, feeding the Hamas propaganda campaign that Israel rather than the jihadist group is responsible for the destruction in Gaza.
10/16/23: Tablet’s
reports Biden admin calls on Israel not to launch a preemptive strike against Hezbollah despite its continued attacks on Israelis, in exchange for the U.S. committing assets if Hezbollah attacks first. Sec. Blinken also conveys to Israel that the U.S. “will find it difficult to support a military operation in Gaza that involves widespread harm to civilians” – a virtual impossibility given Hamas’ explicit use of civilians and civilian infrastructure to protect itself.Biden admin announces the president will visit Israel, further delaying its ground invasion of Gaza.
Sec. Blinken telegraphs Pres. Biden will “receive a comprehensive brief on Israel's war aims and strategy” and “hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way the minimizes civilian casualties” and allows aid to flow.
10/17/23: In reporting on Biden’s trip to Israel, CNN reveals visit was conditioned on Israel opening Gaza to humanitarian aid.
National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson John Kirby says, on eve of Biden’s visit, that POTUS “wants to get a sense from the Israelis about the situation on the ground, and more critically, their objectives, their plans, their intentions in the days and weeks ahead. And he'll be asking some tough questions.”
10/18/23: During remarks in Tel Aviv, Biden tells Israelis that “Justice must be done,” but “don’t be consumed by [rage];” emphasizes that Israel “live[s] by the rule of law” and “law of wars;” that war “requires being deliberate…asking very hard questions;” while noting “The Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well,” and calling on the Israeli cabinet “to agree to the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.”
Despite knowledge purported “humanitarian assistance” to Gaza had been used to turn it into a mini-terror state in the first place – underwriting the Oct. 7 massacre – the Biden admin commits $100M in aid to Gaza and the West Bank.
Admin says “If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance…it will end.” The admin will not cease such aid, and will in fact demand ever-greater amounts of aid be surged despite ample evidence over the coming weeks it is being commandeered by the jihadist group.
Biden also says “we must keep pursuing peace. We must keep pursuing a path so that Israel and the Palestinian people can both live safely, in security, in dignity, and in peace.
For me, that means a two-state solution.”
That day the Biden admin lets UN sanctions on Iranian ballistic missile, drone programs lapse.
10/20/23: When asked why Israel permitted aid before Hamas released all hostages, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says, “The Americans insisted and we are not in a place where we can refuse them. We rely on them for planes and military equipment. What are we supposed to do? Tell them no?”
10/21/23: Two weeks after Oct. 7, Joe Biden again signals his ultimate desire to effectively reward Hamas, tweeting, “As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution.”
That same day the first shipment of “humanitarian aid,” which will be exploited by Hamas, enters Gaza.
Amb. Beth Jones reiterates at Cairo Peace Summit that “President Biden cautioned Israel not to become blinded by rage. Civilian lives must be protected, and assistance must urgently reach those in need. We will continue to work closely with our partners in the region to stress the importance of upholding the law of war, respect for international humanitarian law…”
She also reiterates that “the vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas, and Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.”
10/22/23: Reports emerge that the Biden administration, led by Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein, is working to prevent Israel from striking Hezbollah.
That same day, the New York Times reports Biden admin is advising Israel to delay a ground invasion of Gaza “hoping to buy time for hostage negotiations and to allow more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.”
POTUS also sends a “both-sides” tweet, indicating that while Israel “has a right to defend itself,” PM “Netanyahu and I have discussed how Israel must operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can.
We can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace. That’s why I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
And we cannot give up on a two-state solution.”
10/23/23: Report suggests President Biden tells PM Netanyahu to refrain from taking aggressive action against Hezbollah in the north during temporary ceasefire.
10/25/23: Now nearly three weeks removed from the worst attack against Israel in its modern history, Axios details that “President Biden, despite his full-throated support for Israel and its right to strike Hamas, has methodically and meticulously delayed the looming invasion of Gaza, U.S. officials tell us.”
Consequently, he buys Hamas time to hunker down and move assets around in preparation for a coming incursion, eliminates Israel’s ability to seize the initiative with any sort of element of surprise, and allows international pressure to mount against Israel as casualties result from air strikes. This effort is largely built on the idea that delaying the invasion provides time for “hostage diplomacy.”
The Biden admin will repeatedly seek to use the desire for releasing hostages as leverage to get Israel not to prosecute the war as needed to defeat Hamas
Separately, in a joint press conference with PM Albanese of Australia, President Biden declares “There’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th . . . When this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next. And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution.”
10/26/23: WaPo reports that “The Biden administration is urging Israel to rethink its plans for a major ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and instead to opt for a more “surgical” operation using aircraft and special operations forces carrying out precise, targeted raids on high-value Hamas targets and infrastructure.”
10/27/23: WaPo reports that three weeks after the Oct. 7 massacre, Biden admin officials begin exerting pressure on Israel to take a “humanitarian pause” from airstrikes to surge aid into Gaza.
10/28/23: Israel begins ground invasion of Gaza.
10/29/23: President Biden issues tweet indicating he does not want Gazans displaced to Egypt, keeping civilians amassed in Gaza and thereby making Israel’s war effort substantially more difficult – ultimately concentrating Palestinian Arabs in planned Rafah offensive to come.
Readout of conversation between Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi confirms that they discussed “ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation.”
That same day, U.S. successfully pressures Israel into restoring phone and internet comms in Gaza – after Israel had jammed internet and telecoms networks upon entering Gaza for its ground offensive.
Axios’ Barak Ravid reports that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that President Biden will speak to PM Netanyahu and “stress the need for the IDF to do every possible effort to distinguish between terrorists and Palestinian civilians during the ground operation in Gaza.”
10/30/23: Sec. Blinken says Israel must be in “compliance with international humanitarian law” and “urged Israel to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm,” indicating Israel understood “massive levels of civilian life and displace scale we saw in the north [could] not be repeated in the south.”
11/1/23: State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller notes that in meetings in Jordan, Sec. Blinken will “reaffirm the U.S. commitment to working with partners to set the conditions for a durable and sustainable peace in the Middle East, to include the establishment of a Palestinian state that reflects the aspirations of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.”
In the start of something of a whisper campaign aimed at undermining if not toppling PM Netanyahu – something the admin had quietly supported dating back to the judicial reform crisis – Politico reports that “Joe Biden and top aides have discussed the likelihood that Benjamin Netanyahu’s political days are numbered,” with the expectation his tenure will end within months. According to a former official, reportedly “With an eye toward the future, U.S. officials are talking to Benny Gantz, a member of the current unity government; Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister; and Yair Lapid, an opposition leader and former prime minister, among other Israeli figures.”
Also that day, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweets that “Biden is now secretly pressuring Israel to allow fuel into Gaza. Hamas has huge reserves of fuel that it could use for civilians, but instead stockpiles for its rockets and terror tunnels.”
11/2/23: President Biden calls for a “pause” in Israel’s ground offensive to “get the prisoners [hostages] out” of Gaza.
NYT adds in report that Sec. Blinken “will urge the Israeli government to agree to a series of brief cessations of military operations in Gaza to allow for hostages to be released safely and for humanitarian aid to be distributed.”
11/3/23: Reports emerge suggesting Sec. Blinken told Israeli counterparts of desire for a humanitarian pause, purportedly to buy it political cover from those demanding a ceasefire.
11/4/23: NYT reports that U.S. officials press Israel to use “smaller bombs” in targeting Hamas, to “employ[]…ground forces to separate civilian population centers from where the militants are concentrated,” and for “a series of pauses to fighting to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the exit of foreign nationals” – all of which imperiled Israeli lives and may have prolonged the war.
The Times writes:
Changing Israel’s approach is a critical priority for the Biden administration.
Mr. Blinken’s public comments that ‘we provided Israel advice that only the best of friends can offer on how to minimize civilian deaths’ underscored the shift in the administration’s position. U.S. officials say their private messages to the Israelis have been more blunt.
According to the Israeli KANN News, the U.S. presses “Israel to allow humanitarian pauses in Gaza fighting to boost global legitimacy for war.”
11/6/23: Report suggests U.S. conditions assault rifle delivery on weapons not being distributed to Jewish militias in Judea and Samaria – under purported fear of uptick in “settler violence” that will prove a false and utterly fraudulent narrative. This is at the same time Palestinian Arabs are engaged in rampant terrorism against Jews in Judea and Samaria.
11/9/23: Under pressure from Biden admin, Israel begins to implement humanitarian “pauses,” effectively flowing re-supply to Hamas, with Israel promising no military operations in relevant areas during said pauses. While acknowledging the challenge of Israel operating with Hamas using civilians as human shields, NSC’s Kirby says “At the same time, Israel has an obligation to fully comply with international law,” and “we believe these pauses are a step in the right direction.”
11/10/23: Sec. Blinken says that “Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many have suffered these past weeks…we’ll be continuing to discuss with Israel the concrete steps to be taken to advance these objectives [preventing civilian harm and maximizing aid].”
11/11/23: Sec. Austin “emphasize[s]” to Israeli Defense Minister Gallant the need to “contain the conflict to Gaza and avoid regional escalation” per a readout, also reportedly asking Gallant to explain “Israeli air strikes in Lebanon” and “avoid steps that could lead to an all out war between Israel and Hezbollah,” per an unidentified Israeli official.
11/12/23: Axios reports that “Some in the Biden administration are concerned Israel is trying to provoke Hezbollah and create a pretext for a wider war in Lebanon that could draw the U.S. and other countries further into the conflict, according to sources briefed on the issue,”
11/13/23: Sec. Blinken drafts memo emphasizing the desire for “Gaza unified with the West Bank,” calling for “No forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians from Gaza…No reoccupation of Gaza…Not attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza. No reduction in the territory of Gaza” – expressly setting conditions governing resolution to the war
Biden official leaks dissatisfaction with PM Netanyahu’s rejection of Hamas-lite PA leading Gaza “the day after” war, with reports suggesting U.S. “has begun to ask about the possibility of a more moderate government being shuffled in.” It suggests “diplomatic umbrella” being provided by U.S. could collapse absent Israel bowing to desired policy.
That same day, WaPo reports of an emerging cease-fire-plus-hostages-for-terrorists exchange being mediated by the U.S.-supported Qataris between Israel and Hamas.
Also, five weeks after Oct. 7, Biden sanctions Hamas-affiliated via terror designations that Sen. Ted Cruz national security advisor Omri Ceren says had been sitting “on the shelf” but left un-implemented “for ideological reasons.”
11/18/23: In a WaPo op-ed, Pres. Biden writes that “As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution.”
The PA is led by Hamas-lite Fatah, which refused to condemn the Oct. 7 attacks; will compensate the families of the jihadists who perpetrated the attacks; has members who reportedly participated in the attacks; and whose leaders would demonstrate an interest in forming a government incorporating Hamas.
Relatedly, Biden indicates the U.S. is preparing to impose sanctions on Israeli “extremists [purportedly] attacking [Palestinian Arab] civilians in the West Bank,”
11/21/23: NSC’s Kirby warns that Israel should not expand its operations into southern Gaza absent “a clearly articulated plan for how they’re going to protect the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people that have now been added to the population [in the south] because they were asked to leave by the Israelis.”
11/24/23: After weeks of effort and pressure from the Biden admin, Israel yields and agrees to multi-day war pause plus hostage exchange for three-times as many Palestinian Arab prisoners, many jihadists, plus surging of humanitarian aid to Gaza
Separately, Biden says that conditioning military aid to Israel was a “worthwhile thought.”
11/26/23: Biden asserts he wants four-day pause in Israel-Hamas war to extend.
That same day, the British Daily Express reports that Israel’s Shabak knows where “many” of the then-240 hostages were located, but did not rescue them due to the threat of collateral damage – which according to @CarolineGlick would “risk U.S. resupply, which Israel cannot fight without.”
11/27/23: Caroline Glick reports that three weeks prior, the Biden admin “began demanding that Israel limit (or cancel entirely) its pre-ground battle aerial bombings. Consequently, in the week that preceded this week’s ‘humanitarian pause,’ the IDF’s battle losses were overwhelmingly the consequence of sniper fire from Hamas terrorists hiding in buildings that the air force did not destroy before the battles, due to U.S. pressure.”
11/28/23: Pres. Biden tweets “Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.
To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek.
We can’t do that.”
The Biden administration is sending clear signals that it wants the current cease-fire to mark the beginning of the end of Israel’s major combat operations and plans to place additional conditions on any renewed Israeli offensive. On Monday, an anonymous administration official told reporters that “the Israeli campaign when it moves to the south must be done in a way that is to a maximum extent not designed to produce significant further displacement of persons” and “conducted in a way that is maximally de-conflicted with humanitarian facilities.” Also on Monday evening, Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution on X, while Senate Democrats met to discuss proposals to condition U.S. aid to Israel on Israel’s observance of international law (as The Wall Street Journal points out, Washington can already withhold aid on human-rights grounds, so the measure would amount to a specific rebuke to Israel’s conduct of the war.)
U.S. officials emphasize that “As Israel defends itself from terrorism, they have the obligation to do everything possible to prevent any civilian casualties and distinguish between terrorists and civilians;” also “We don’t support southern operations unless or until the Israelis can show that they have accounted for all the internally displaced people of Gaza;” said campaign “must be done in a way that is to a maximum extent not designed to produce significant further displacement of persons. It cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north replicated in the south”
11/30/23: Sec. Blinken tells PM Netanyahu Biden admin will announce series of visa bans against Israelis in Judea and Samaria who allegedly attacked Palestinians. It will introduce no such measures against Palestinian Arab terrorists.
That same day, reports leak that in meeting with Israel’s war cabinet, Sec. Blinken told Israeli leaders that “You can’t operate in southern Gaza in the way you did in the north,” and that in response to Defense Minister Gallant’s comment that all of Israel “is united behind the goal of dismantling Hamas, even if it takes months,” quote “I don’t think you have the credit for that.”
12/1/23: “Temporary pause” ends.
12/2/23: Sec. Austin delivers speech noting “I have personally pushed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties, and to shun irresponsible rhetoric, and to prevent violence by settlers in the West Bank,” and warning that Israel could suffer “strategic defeat” otherwise.
12/4/23: Politico reports that Biden admin officials have since mid-October been planning post-war scenario envisioning a “revitalized” PA in charge of Gaza. This represents an attempt to box PM Netanyahu, who resists telegraphing post-war plans.
12/5/23: Sec. Blinken announces visa restrictions on Jews targeting those “involved in or meaningfully contribution to actions that undermine peace, security, and stability” in Judea and Samaria.
That same day, report drops indicating U.S. wishes for Israeli invasion to be over by the first week of January.
12/6/23: Report indicates WH seeking to broker deal between Israel and Lebanon that according to senior Israeli officials aims to “prevent[] Israel and the IDF from engaging in a military campaign along the northern border.”
12/7/23: Report suggests Biden admin is going around Israel to work with PA on a plan to run Gaza post-war – with PA calling for Hamas to join it in coalition government.
That same day Sec. Blinken criticizes Israel for its southern Gaza offensive, noting there is a “gap…[between] the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we’re seeing on the ground.”
A report also circulates suggesting U.S. directed Israel not to respond to Houthi attacks despite being under de facto blockade.
12/10/23: Caroline Glick reports that Hochstein reportedly seeking to broker Israel-Lebanon plan whereby Israel would withdraw from strategically significant sovereign territory, with Hezbollah proclaiming it will abide by the UNSC Resolution it has been violating – thereby imperiling Israel.
12/12/23: At a fundraiser with prominent Jewish Democrats, Pres. Biden suggests he lectured PM Netanyahu, with respect to the Israel-Hamas War, “Don’t make the same mistakes we made [after] 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan [after] 9/11,” falsely claiming Israel had been engaging in “indiscriminate bombing,” and also indicating that “I think he [Netanyahu] has to change.” Biden warns Israel is “starting to lose…support” internationally. He also criticizes conservative national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
12/13/23: Axios reports Biden admin delays sale of rifles to Israel “over concerns about attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank” – again a canard used to smear and slander Israeli opposition to desired two-state plan.
12/14/23: Axios reports NSA Sullivan told PM Netanyahu et al. that Israel needs to “transition to the next lower intensity phase [of the war] in a matter of weeks, not months,” contrary to what Israeli officials were saying they needed in terms of time.
That same day Politico reports U.S. has gathered intelligence that could allow it to make assessments about whether Israel is abiding by the laws of war.
12/15/23: Times of Israel reports various Israeli leaders have urged the Biden admin to stop talking about a “two-state solution” – pleas that will go ignored.
NSA Sullivan tells reporters while in Tel Aviv that the Hezbollah “threat can be dealt with through diplomacy,” undermining potential Israeli military action.
That same day, reports emerge suggesting U.S. wishes to ensure not only humanitarian aid but commercial goods be allowed into Gaza strip.
12/16/23: Reports indicate U.S. military leaders press Israel to limit its war effort to “prevent a wider regional war,” the indication being that Israel must cease intense operations – necessitated by the attack perpetrated by Iran proxy Hamas – to get Iran’s proxies to stop attacking https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-major-combat-operations-austin-b201d682a10735c0bc6847359edeca8b
12/22/23: U.S. abstains in the face of UNSC resolution calling “for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
12/28/23: Reports emerge suggesting Biden admin is unhappy with and pressing Israel to release tax revenue it is withholding from the PA.
1/2/24: State Dept. chides Israeli national security minister Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments calling for Palestinians to voluntarily leave Gaza and pressing for Israelis to return as “inflammatory and irresponsible.”
That same day, Israel allegedly assassinates Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon, prompting Biden administration officials to claim, per the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Richard Goldberg that they had advised against the attack.
1/8/24: President Biden says, in the face of protestors, “I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza. And using all that I can to do that.”
Jake Tapper tweets that a Biden admin official indicates PM Netanyahu will have to choose between Israeli conservatives, and Biden and the U.S.
1/9/24: In remarks in Tel Aviv, Sec. Blinken holds Israel responsible for the “acute food insecurity” of Gazans, demanding “Israel needs to do everything it can to remove any obstacles from crossings to other parts of Gaza. Improving deconfliction procedures to ensure that the aid can move safely and securely is a critical part of that” – this regarding aid distributed primarily by a captured entity of Hamas, UNRWA.
Despite lamenting how “the daily toll on civilians in Gaza…is far too high,” Blinken says “the United States unequivocally rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.”
Caroline Glick’s analysis suggests Biden admin officials are working behind the scenes to topple PM Netanyahu with a left-wing Israeli alternative that will make massive land concessions in connection with establishment of a Palestinian state.
1/10/24: Following meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas – currently serving in the 20th year of a four-year term – Sec. Blinken declares Abbas “committed” to reforming the PA.
As WSJ reports, this comes amid recent news the PA would extend its “pay for slay” compensation to families of Hamas terrorists killed after Oct. 7.
1/14/24: “The president’s patience is running out” with the continuing Israeli war on Hamas, a U.S. official leaks to Axios. Also leaked, Sec. Blinken’s view that Israel’s plan for post-war Gaza was “pie in the sky.” Notably, Blinken met with both war cabinet minister Gantz, opposition leader Lapid, and Defense Minister Gallant, all cast as potential PM Netanyahu successors in the press.
NSA Sullivan says on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive.
1/17/24: NBC News reports of growing rupture between Biden admin and PM Netanyahu, with U.S. officials leaking that Netanyahu “will not be there forever” – again part of a whisper campaign against him suggesting a desire to see him toppled.
The officials said the Biden administration is trying to lay the groundwork with other Israeli and civil society leaders in anticipation of an eventual post-Netanyahu government. In an attempt to work around Netanyahu, Blinken also met individually with members of his war Cabinet and other Israeli leaders, including opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, officials said.
Blinken also conveys, per NBC, that there is “no military solution” to Hamas.
That same day in conversation with NYT administration mouthpiece Thomas Friedman, Blinken puts onus on Israel to make peace, noting “Arab countries and Muslim countries…are prepared to have a relationship with Israel in terms of its integration, its normalization, its security” in exchange for a Palestinian state.”
“When in previous times we came close to…getting a Palestinian state…the view then…was that Arab leaders, Palestinian leaders, had not done enough to prepare their own people for this profound change. I think a challenge now, a question now: Is Israeli society prepared to engage on these questions?”
1/19/24: After several weeks of reported silence, President Biden and PM Netanyahu speak, during which Biden presses Netanyahu to agree to the creation of a Palestinian state post-war.
John Kirby tsk-tsks Netanyahu for saying “I shall not compromise on full Israeli security control of the entire area west of Jordan River,” responding “It’s not a phrase that we recommend using because of that [‘from the river to the sea’] context.”
1/21/24: WSJ reports on U.S.-Egypt-Qatar plan to essentially force Israel to end the war with an Israeli loss by leveraging a hostage-for-terrorist exchange during a freeze that would ultimately lead to the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the ending of surveillance, flooding of Gaza with aid, followed by “talks for a permanent cease-fire, normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and the relaunching of a process to create a Palestinian state.”
In such a scenario, Hamas would not be destroyed, and hundreds if not thousands of freed jihadists could be re-deployed from a newly established Palestinian terror state.
These U.S.-supported talks persist to this day.
1/22/24: Politico telegraphs Biden admin will seek to pressure Israel to de-intensify/halt war to get Houthis to stand down.
1/26/24: State Dept. announces “temporary pause” on UNRWA funding after organization is found to be brimming with Hamas members and colluders. But the freeze only comes after 99.8% of the $121M in UNRWA funding earmarked has already been delivered.
Separately, with Israeli protestors preventing aid at Kerem Shalom border crossing from entering the Gaza strip until hostages are freed, White House reportedly pressures Israel to ensure aid moves unabated.
1/28/24: NBC News reports Biden admin “is discussing using weaponry sales to Israel as leverage to convince the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to heed long-standing U.S. calls to scale back its military assault in the Gaza Strip.” A Biden official leaks “There’s a lot more that needs to be done and they [Israel] need to be more careful about.”
Shin Bet Director reports vast majority of humanitarian assistance goes to Hamas.
1/31/24: Axios reports State Dept. is reviewing options on “possible U.S. and international recognition of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza” on heels of meeting between Sec. Blinken and Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer – a move that if done unilaterally would violate Oslo Accords.
That same day, WSJ reports that U.S. is “pushing for a cease-fire deal that could stop the war in Gaza long enough to stall Israel’s military momentum and potentially set the stage for a more lasting truce,” beginning with a six-week cease-fire and hostage-for-terrorist exchange in which “Hamas has demanded the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners for each female Israeli soldier set free.”
Comments from Hamas officials suggest they believe the U.S. is effectively on its side in negotiations.
Also that day, NYT’s Friedman previews a coming “Biden Doctrine” involving forcing a Palestinian state on Israel to gain the “global legitimacy, the NATO allies and the Arab and Muslim allies it needs” to “take on Iran in a more aggressive manner.”
2/1/24: Biden issues executive order sanctioning, de-banking Jews living in their biblical homeland of Judea and Samaria should they challenge the White House’s desired “two-state solution” based on fraud claim of an uptick in “settler violence.”
EO is meant to draw equivalence between vastly more lethal and pervasive Palestinian Arab jihadist threat and Israelis, undermine cause of Jews in Judea and Samaria who will most fervently oppose two-state plan and who are suffering disproportionate casualties fighting in war.
“Exceptional” response, as PM Netanyahu terms it, applies not only to those detained by police but supportive NGOs and government officials. Leaks indicate Biden admin considered applying sanctions to ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
UNRWA officials colluding with or found to be members of Hamas, among other Palestinian Arabs are not slapped with such sanctions.
2/2/24: Report indicates Biden admin is pressuring Israel not to recruit foreign workers for construction industry in bid to force Israel to re-open itself to Palestinian Arab workers.
2/3/24: Israel Hayom reports Biden admin threatens to invoke Leahy Law – restricting funding of military aid to foreign units over purported human rights violations – in response to Israeli security counter-terrorism operations aimed at neutralizing pervasive jihadist threat in Judea and Samaria.
2/4/24: Politico reports Pres. Biden has called PM Netanyahu a “bad fucking guy,” though a spokesperson denies the claim https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/04/biden-third-party-peril-00139380
2/5/24: Caroline Glick writes that “the IDF has been compelled to conserve its ammunition on the ground due to shortages in supplies, indicating that the United States is slow-walking its supply of key armaments to Israel.”
Glick also reports on another visit from Hochstein to Israel as he pursues a purported diplomatic solution to the Hezbollah threat from the north – one that will see the jihadist group continue to menacingly threaten northern Israel while Israel is expected to cede sovereignty to strategic significant lands therein.
2/6/24: Left-wing Israeli outlet Haaretz reports that a new Biden admin policy aims to target Israeli “executives, investors and maybe even employees at companies producing offense cybersecurity technologies” by causing them “to lose their visas to the United States if the spyware their firms sell is misused and deployed against political activists, human rights defenders or journalists” in a bid to create leverage over Israel and PM Netanyahu to bend to the Biden admin’s favored war plans.
2/7/24: Sec. Blinken says “Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7th. The hostages have been dehumanized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others.”
2/8/24: Biden issues national security memorandum conditioning military aid broadly on recipients providing “credible and reliable written assurances” they are acting in “compliance with international humanitarian law” – targeting Israel, which will have to produce such assurances within 45 days, the due date coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Purim.
That same day reports circulate suggesting State Dept. has issued “strident warnings” against a Rafah offensive, with U.S. State Dept deputy spokesman Vedant Patel challenging Israel’s plans by noting admin had “yet to see any evidence of serious planning for such an operation” and that “To conduct such an operation right now with no planning and little thought in a[] [densely populated] area” would be a “disaster.”
The Rafah offensive is imperative to defeating Hamas.
NYT reports, in leak undermining war effort, that U.S. intel officials had told Congress Israel “was not close to eliminating” Hamas, and that officials “raised doubts about whether the destruction or elimination of Hamas is a realistic objective.”
Strategic consultant Edward Luttwak argues, in piece in Tablet, that on the contrary Israel is winning the war going away – succeeding despite U.S. demands hampering Israel’s ability to expedite the war in Gaza, particularly in limiting actions of the Israeli air force.
2/9/24: President Biden tells reporters “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top.”
NYT reports that in closed-door meeting with Arab American leaders in Michigan, Deputy NSA Finer undermines Netanyahu-led government in asking, “Will Israel be willing to do the hard thing that’s going to be required of them, which is meaningful steps for the Palestinians on the question of two states? I don’t know if the answer to that is yes. I do not have any confidence in this current government of Israel.” He also expresses regret for not rebuking Israeli officials over their fiery rhetoric regarding Hamas.
2/11/24: WaPo reports “Biden’s patience is wearing thin over how Israel has conducted its military campaign” in article detailing that the president “and his top aides are closer to a breach with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than at any time since the Gaza War began.”
In call, Biden reportedly directs Netanyahu to find a way to “close the gaps with Hamas” in ceasefire negotiations.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tells NPR that under current conditions an Israel military operation “cannot proceed” in Rafah.
2/12/24: President Biden declares U.S. is pushing for a six-week pause in Israel-Hamas war with the intent to extend towards a longer ceasefire.
Biden also says “A major military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than 1 million people sheltering there.”
During remarks with the King of Jordan – who bashed Israel without any response from the president – Biden quotes Hamas-sourced casualty figures, ones he himself had called unreliable months prior only to recant in the face of Muslim activists.
NSC’s Kirby says “We have consistently conveyed our concerns to our Israeli counterparts, including the prime minister…about moving forward in Rafah in a major way without due consideration of civilians,” adding “there’s been too many [civilian casualties].”
NBC News reports that Biden has in recent weeks been disparaging PM Netanyahu, referring to him as an “asshole” as he “has been venting his frustration in recent private conversations…over his inability to persuade Israel to change its military tactics in the Gaza Strip…nam[ing] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the primary obstacle.”
That same day, in response to an Israeli hostage rescue, NSC’s Kirby says that while “pleased” about the operation, of potential associated Palestinian deaths “the proper number of civilian casualties is zero” and “We certainly mourn any loss of innocent life as the result of those operations.”
2/13/24: Word leaks that contrary to NSC Kirby remarks from one month prior, the Biden admin has “been assessing possible international law violations by Israel for months…and…[is] continuing to do so.”
In a perhaps unprecedented de facto ask, the U.S. says “Any credible plan” for Rafah invasion must account for “physical movement, safe movement, as well as proper sustenance for them [civilians] – food, water, medicine, access to healthcare.”
Axios reports Pres. Biden says in any new hostage deal, Israel may have to release a greater multiple of Palestinian jihadists for hostages than in the initial ceasefire/hostage trade.
Biden officials reportedly express outrage for Israel holding grain from being delivered to Gaza by way of Hamas-captured UNRWA.
2/14/24: WaPo reports Biden admin is “rushing to complete a detailed, comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” which would include “the withdrawal of many, if not all, settler communities on the West Bank; [and] a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.”
Report asserts that “under consideration [is] early U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state.”
Axios reports Sec. Austin discusses with his counterpart Defense Minister Gallant “the importance of safeguarding civilians and ensuring the movement of and access to humanitarian assistance before any operations against Hamas in Rafah.”
WSJ also reports U.S. is probing Israeli strikes in Gaza and Lebanon.
While Israelis and Judea and Samaria are threatened with sanctions, President Biden issues a waiver for deportable Palestinians in the U.S., shielding them from deportation for 18 months.
2/15/24: WSJ reports that:
The U.S. has communicated that it wouldn’t—under any circumstances—support a plan for a full-scale invasion of Rafah, and that it would prefer to see targeted operations, U.S. officials said. The Biden administration has asked the Israeli military to produce a '“credible plan” that included both a military and humanitarian component if it decides to disregard Washington’s advice and invade the city, U.S. officials said.
In a separate report, a U.S. official says that “in recent days, the Biden administration has handed Israel a list of demands that must be met before any operation in Rafah.”
Claiming “There’s no indication Biden” will take any such measures, Politico lays out a series of punitive actions it might take to the extent Israel launches a Rafah offensive of which the administration disapproves.
A readout of a call between Biden and Netanyahu released that evening notes Biden “reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah.”
As
reports, halting the Rafah operation and thereby throwing Hamas a lifeline will lead to preserving its:leadership and at least some of the terror group’s organizational and military strength and to incorporate this “deradicalized” remnant into the government of a Palestinian state, where it can reconstitute itself with international aid, constantly exert pressure on Fatah to take more radically anti-Israel stances, and serve as a permanent Iranian foothold on Israel’s eastern border, in addition to the footholds Iran already has on Israel’s northern and southwestern borders. But even if the PA doesn’t incorporate Hamas, as the PA prime minister says he hopes to do, Israel would still have problems. As The Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday:
An investigation by Palestinian Media Watch, the nonprofit watchdog based in Jerusalem, documented at least 55 attacks by PA security forces against Israeli soldiers or civilians since 2020, including four in the past month alone. In each case, the PA or its ruling Fatah party has eulogized the attacker as one of their own “soldiers.”
WSJ separately reports Biden admin had considered punitive action the month prior: “includ[ing] a reversal of two Trump-era policies: one that allows products made in Jewish settlements in the Israel-occupied West Bank to be labeled as being ‘Made in Israel,’ and another that upended longstanding U.S. policy that the West Bank settlements violate international law.”