It's not every day a country dares to ignore the mighty America. Most nations know that defying the US President may result in a stern warning, maybe a bit of diplomatic cold shoulder or, in the worst-case scenario, a new set of sanctions. But then again, not every leader is Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister seems to have perfected the art of dodging President Joe Biden's advice - without much harm to himself.
Last week, the most powerful leader of the most powerful country found himself, shall we say, whining about 'Bibi' - as Netanyahu's nickname goes - almost like a disappointed father admonishing his beloved but mischievous son. Answering a reporter in the hallowed White House, Biden wore a look of betrayal, complaining, "No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that." The scene was shocking. Biden must have been so pained that his words felt less like diplomacy and more like a hapless parent wondering why his rebellious son does not listen to him anymore.
The reporter's question was directly related to a nagging suspicion in Democratic Party circles that the Israeli Prime Minister was deliberately dragging his feet on a ceasefire in Gaza, proposed by Biden in May. Biden echoed that view and wondered whether Netanyahu was stalling the proposed ceasefire until the US Presidential election on November 5. The President said, "And whether he is trying to influence the election, I don't know, but I am not counting on it"
Biden really shouldn't have been shocked. After all, back when he was Vice-President under Obama, Netanyahu had the audacity to go right past the White House and address the Republican-dominated Congress to publicly trash the Iran nuclear deal. He was just biding his time, waiting for either Hillary or Trump to step in after the 2016 election and fix things. Then, Trump got elected. And what did he do? He cancelled the deal, handing Netanyahu exactly what he had been waiting for.
No One Is Sorry For Biden
Any sympathy for Biden's heartbreak? There appears to be none. How ironic that now that he is on his way out, he is accusing Netanyahu of dragging his feet on a ceasefire. Up until now, Biden had been conveniently ignoring Bibi's stalling tactics, instead pinning the blame squarely on Hamas every time talks broke down. Never mind that his own advisors and party leaders subtly hinted that Netanyahu wasn't interested in any ceasefire deal-at least not until January 2025, when a new President enters the White House. It is obvious that Bibi is betting big on a Trump comeback. Under Trump's Presidency, he believes he could have a free hand in West Asia.
Of course, no one's suggesting that Israel is meddling in the US election. Right or wrong, the meddling accusations are reserved for China, Russia and Iran. But Biden's point was clear: Netanyahu seems to be stalling the ceasefire, hoping to drag things out until the election. If a ceasefire happens earlier, Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris might get a boost. But if things stay messy, Netanyahu's old buddy Trump could swoop back in-and wouldn't that be a convenient reunion?
Senator Chris Murphy, who is a close friend of President Biden, recently told CNN, "I don't think you have to be a hopeless cynic to read some of Israel's actions, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions, as connected to the American election". Several US mainstream newspapers had carried stories in September quoting US officials as saying that they did not believe a deal would be reached during Biden's Presidency
American Presidents' Badges Of Honour
Foreign policy, let's be real, rarely moves the needle in a US election. Yet every presidential candidate somehow convinces himself that if he doesn't stand rock-solid with Israel, his chances of winning will diminish - despite no evidence to back that up. Since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, every US president has proudly pledged to support Israel and zealously guarded its security. They worked tirelessly to broker peace deals between Israel and Palestinians or Arab nations. And those who succeeded at striking a peace deal wore it like a shiny badge of honour - even though some of those deals were, let's just say, less than groundbreaking, and favoured Israel. A few examples:
- Camp David Accord, 1978. Jimmy Carter facilitated a historic peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which led to Egypt recognising Israel and Israel returning the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt
- Oslo Accord, 1993. Bill Clinton successfully mediated the first face-to-face agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation(PLO), resulting in the Oslo Accord in 1993. It created a framework for future peace talks
- Roadmap for peace, 2003. George W. Bush pushed for a two-state solution through this agreement but he faced difficulties in implementing it
- Abraham Accords, 2020. Donald Trump brokered normalisation agreements for Israel with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, which reshaped West Asia relations. The next in line was a deal with Saudi Arabia, but last year's deadly attack by Hamas on Israel derailed the peace process. Many critics of the accords argued that the agreements had completely sidestepped the Palestinians' demands for a state
Biden's Ironclad Support For Israel
In recent years, only two presidents - Joe Biden and his old boss Barack Obama - completely missed the peace deal train in West Asia, though Obama managed to strike a nuclear deal with Iran, which was later rescinded by Trump. Obama, in particular, had a famously chilly relationship with 'Bibi'. In fact, it's widely considered the worst personal dynamic ever between a US president and an Israeli prime minister. And that's despite the two countries achieving peak security cooperation.
Biden may have failed to deliver any peace deal in West Asia, but make no mistake, under his presidency, Israel has got the maximum support. He has blindly backed Israel's systematic destruction of Gaza and refused to put conditions on US military aid. Therefore, he was not really wrong when he complained on Friday that "no administration has helped Israel more than I have".
The US Is Already At War
For years, the US has maintained the fiction that it is an honest peace broker and a neutral mediator in West Asia. But America's role in the West Asia crisis is a perfect example of mixed signals. On one hand, it is supposedly working tirelessly to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. On the other hand, it is arming Israel to the teeth, basically giving them the green light to keep pounding away in Gaza and Lebanon. And let's not forget, Biden has made it crystal clear that he will jump to Israel's defence if Iran even thinks about attacking them again. Honestly, many would argue that the US is already knee-deep in this conflict, considering it has helped Israel destroy Iranian missiles not once but twice since April, shares intel with the Israeli military daily, and has warships ready to roll in the Red Sea in defence of the Jewish state. This does not sound like a neutral referee in the region, does it?
The Trump administration finally dropped the mask when it openly sided with Israel against the Palestinians, which led to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declaring the US as an untrustworthy peace broker. What infuriated the Palestinians was that they were disregarded in the Abraham Accords signed between Israel and a clutch of Arab states. Additionally, Trump's controversial decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem also angered the Palestinians.
Today, it is almost sickening to see how Biden is botching his ceasefire efforts by being unassertive. While he is blinded by his love for Israel, the world watches with bated breath, powerless to intervene. The UN Security Council has proven to be toothless. BRICS and G20 are disappointingly muted. It reminds this writer of a couple of lines from a Matthew Arnold poem, "Wandering between two worlds. One dead, the other powerless to be born".
(Syed Zubair Ahmed is a London-based senior Indian journalist with three decades of experience with the Western media)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author