There is
a bad mood between the United States and Israel
.
It is because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted this time, possibly with greater intensity, on his position against the future existence of a Palestinian State as demanded by the United States and the European Union, in addition to its regional allies in the Arab world.
The statements sparked
immediate recrimination
from the White House.
And this Friday an unexpected call from President Joe Biden to directly reiterate to the Israeli president that “the only way out of this crisis is
the Palestinian state solution
” while demanding that he reduce the damage suffered by non-belligerent civilians in Gaza, a problem that fuels a growing international offensive.
The military operation was triggered by the bloody Hamas attack on October 7 that left more than 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, women, children and the elderly.
The conversation lasted a long 40 minutes and occurred after
27 days of silence and coldness
from the Democratic government, internally besieged by the support it provides to Israel amidst images of the Palestinian drama, with more than 23,000 dead in indiscriminate bombings, including in sites supposedly protected, cities destroyed, without food, water, energy or hospitals.
“Israel must have control of the security of all the territory located west of the Jordan (river).
“It is a necessary condition, which is in contradiction with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty,” the Israeli prime minister said a day ago.
“We obviously see things differently,” responded US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“The president (Biden) still believes in the promise and possibility of a two-state solution,” Kirby said at the White House.
It was a preview of the live message from the North American head of government.
Destroyed buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, this Thursday.
Photo: XINHUA
Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on December 23 and the silence between them since then has led to repeated
questions about a rift.
The two have had a notoriously complicated relationship since the Democratic leader last year pressured Israel's right-wing ruler on controversial reforms to reduce the power of the judiciary planned by his Executive.
But at the same time, Biden has strongly supported Israel since October 7, and even traveled to the country after the attacks, publicly embracing Netanyahu and promising him full support.
The political backroom
There are other backgrounds.
This controversial political leader returned to power in Israel at the end of last year in alliance with ultra-nationalist and ultra-orthodox parties, very minority, which under no other circumstances could have formed the country's cabinet.
From these positions, particularly in Economy and National Security, these fundamentalist forces propose that the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank must be convinced to leave for other countries to
create a Greater Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan
.
The Palestinian people number just over five million people.
The devastating nature of the offensive in Gaza, according to some analysts, is behavior in line with these extremist notions.
Israeli bombings on the Gaza Strip.
Photo: AFP
If Netanyahu accepts the North American and European proposals, he runs the risk of losing the support of those allies, the government would fall, he would lose his position and he would have to face a host of corruption charges against him.
An alternative is the call for early elections
In this sense, it is interesting to note the observation of analysts such as Ashei Pfetter in the newspaper
Haaretz
, who last December pointed out that Netanyahu began to broadcast a campaign video in which he reaffirms his differences with the US over what should happen in Gaza.
A narrative for the public and its partners.
“The US administration knows that Netanyahu does not want the Palestinian Authority to take over Gaza the day after the war ends.
“The Americans have also made it clear to him that they do not care about his views,” he wrote.
He added that the truth is that “quietly, behind the scenes,” a team led by Netanyahu's top lieutenants (Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi) “are already discussing how to exactly the Palestinian Authority will finally take power in Gaza.”
According to this observer, Netanyahu knows that whichever Israeli government is in charge when the time comes, “it will have no choice but to accept the American plan for Gaza.”
The White House also knows it.