President Condemns Israeli Aid Strike, But ‘The Criticism Looks Empty’
Moderate diplomatic voices say Biden must do more to constrain violence
Although President Biden sharply condemned Israel’s deadly attack on a humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza, even more-moderate experts in diplomacy say that the time has come for the president to do more to back up his criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Biden released a statement after an Israeli attack killed six foreign aid workers of U.S.-based aid group World Central Kitchen and their Palestinian driver in Gaza on Monday.
Two prominent figures in top-level US diplomacy in presidential administrations of the past want to see more action from the current American president, however.
“I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday. They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war. They were brave and selfless. Their deaths are a tragedy,” Biden’s statement said. “Israel has pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into why the aid workers’ vehicles were hit by airstrikes. That investigation must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public.
“Even more tragically, this is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” the statement added. “This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians. The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties.
“The United States will continue to do all we can to deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, through all available means,” the statement said. “I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. I have a team in Cairo working on this right now.”
Those words are welcome, but there must be more, according to two veterans of Republican administrations who appeared Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
“I’m so sick of hearing how upset President Biden is. The buck stops with him,” said Elise Jordan, who worked as a speechwriter for President George W Bush and then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as well as a stint on the White House National Security Council. “If he wants to stop arms sales — stop the bombs that are killing civilians — he can. He has the power.”
Richard Haass, who worked in administrations from Ronald Reagan’s and both Bushes, was even more pointed.
“The criticism looks empty,” he said.
Arms sales to Israel continue to flow — without conditions — even six months after the Hamas attacks, Haass said, also noting that aside from the Hamas fighters it’s killed, the Israeli military has slaughtered tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
“Why does Israel need 2,000-pound bombs to be used in high-density populated areas?” he asked.
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