Hamas’s attack on Israel has left President Joe Biden in the middle of a huge international crisis with the risk of expanding and under criticism from Republicans that his administration’s policies have led to this dilemma.
The possibility of the conflict prolonging and expanding would test Biden’s leadership on both the domestic and international stages, with him having to demonstrate unwavering support for Israel and at the same time the ability to forge peace in the Middle East, where sympathizers Hamas members quickly and vocally supported the action. Hundreds of people on both sides have died.
The Lebanese group Hizbullah applauded the attack, calling it a response to “Israeli crimes.” The Lebanese group, which like Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, fired rockets and artillery at Israeli positions, prompting a response from Israeli drones. An adviser to the Iranian supreme leader praised Hamas’ action.
Criticism from Republicans
Several Republican candidates immediately tried to blame Biden for the situation, particularly his recent decision to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for the freedom of five Americans. The White House strongly rejected the Republican accusations, pointing out that the Iranian money has not been used by Iran yet and in any case can only be used for humanitarian purposes.
Historically, Iran has had strong ties with Hamas and Hizbullah.
“Hamas would not exist as it does today if it were not for the support it has received from Iran over the years,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a televised interview on Sunday, but acknowledged that “we have seen no evidence of that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Saturday, Biden called the attacks “inexcusable” and promised that Israel “will have what it needs to defend itself.”
“Let me say this as clearly as possible: This is not the time for any actor hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks for their benefit,” Biden declared.
The attack complicates the situation for the Biden administration at a time when the United States is in a growing dispute with Iran over the Iranian nuclear program. Iran claims the program is for peaceful uses only, but its uranium enrichment is now closer than ever to military purposes. Still, Washington has not given up hope of reviving the deal struck under President Barack Obama — and abandoned under President Donald Trump — that lifted some sanctions against Iran in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
U.S. officials at the same time have been trying to forge a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, something that could rearrange the region’s balance of power and boost Israel’s status in historic ways.
But such an agreement already looked difficult as Saudi Arabia demanded that Israel make extensive concessions to the Palestinians. The new conflict places major obstacles to that agreement.
“It is no surprise that those who oppose efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel and, more generally, normalize relations between Israel and countries in the region and beyond, and who oppose it? Hizbullah, Hamas and Iran,” Blinken said. “So in the sense that this was designed to derail those efforts, this is very telling.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry did not condemn the Hamas attack, but stressed that the kingdom has made “repeated warnings about the dangers… of the situation as a result of the continued occupation, the deprivation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the repetition of systematic provocations against their sacred places.
Jonathan Schanzer, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based academic institute, said Biden “did a good job” of keeping Israel’s critics – particularly his fellow Democrats – at bay during the latest conflict with Hamas. in 2021. But it will probably be more difficult now.
“There will be mistakes on the battlefield, because no army is perfect. That is when, I believe, the president will be criticized by the left-wing sectors,” Schanzer said.
Some of the Republican candidates for their party’s presidential candidacy for the 2024 elections wasted no time in blaming Biden.
Former President Donald Trump accused that the Biden government is seen as “weak and ineffective” internationally and that this encouraged Hamas.
