Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the cease-fire negotiations concerning the war in the Gaza territories that has gone on for over nine months following a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people on October 7, 2023. Many innocent hostages were also taken back into Gaza by the Hamas terrorists.
In the nine-month war that has followed, over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them innocent civilians. Many of those civilians are children.
Many Israeli and American hostages, including those who have died in captivity, remain in Gaza.
Cease fire negotiations in Qatar, based on Biden/Harris administration three-phase proposals have been progressing but no final deal has been signed off. Unfortunately, both sides are represented by extremist self-centered individuals who seem to prefer that the war go on with no care for the innocents they are hurting.
President Biden met first with Netanyahu and publicly, at least, the dynamic between the two men seemed professional and friendly. Netanyahu thanked Biden for his 50 years of support for Israel.
Later, after a meeting (along with Netanyahu) with the families of hostages being held in Gaza, President Biden posted this:
Vice President Harris met with Netanyahu afterward.
Earlier in the day, the Vice President issued a statement, condemning the flag-burning anti-semitic protests that had taken place in Washington D.C. the day before when the Israeli Prime Minister addressed a joint session of Congress.
“Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C. we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric. I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews. Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation. I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way. I support the right to peacefully protest, but let’s be clear: antisemitism, hate, and violence of any kind have no place in our nation.”
Following her meeting with Netanyahu, Vice President Harris went before cameras.
She appeared presidential and looked like a Commander-in-Chief.
She told the Prime Minister that, as President, she “Will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself including from Iran and Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah… Israel has a right to defend itself.”
She blamed Hamas for the start of the war and the suffering (including sexual assault) and deaths on both sides that the “brutal” terrorist organization brought about.
She named the American hostages still held, alive and dead, in Gaza.
She described talking with the families of the hostages, saying:
“I’ve told them each time. They are not alone. And I stand with them. And President Biden and I are working every day to bring them home.”
The Vice President also took Netanyahu to task over the Israeli battle plans that have resulted in many unnecessary civilian deaths, voicing:
“I also expressed with the Prime Minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there. With over two million people facing high levels of food insecurity. And half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity. What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”
She commended President Biden for the three-phase ceasefire proposal he has put forth that would end the war, provide Israelis security, and stop the suffering of the Palestinians.
On the status of the negotiations, she said “There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal. And as I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.”
She closed by declaring her short and long-term goals for Israel and Palestine and cautioned the American people that the Middle East conflict is not a cut-and-dried issue, offering:
“So to everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire and to everyone who yearns for peace. I see you and I hear you. Let’s get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home. And let’s provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people. “
“Ultimately, I remain committed to a path forward that can lead to a two-state solution. And I know right now it is hard to conceive of that prospect but a two-state solution is the only path that ensures Israel remains a secure Jewish and Democratic State and one that ensures Palestinians can finally realize the freedom, security, and prosperity that they rightly deserve.”
“And I will close with this then. It is important for the American people to remember the war in Gaza is not a binary issue. However, too often the conversation is binary when the reality is anything but. So I ask my fellow Americans to help encourage efforts to acknowledge the complexity, the nuance, and the history of the region. Let us all condemn terrorism and violence. Let us all do what we can to prevent the suffering of innocent civilians. And let us condemn anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and hate of any kind. And let us work to unite our country. I thank you.”
The Biden/Harris Administration has a hard task ahead.
Unfortunately, none of the extremist leaders on both sides can be trusted.
Hamas is a terrorist organization whose leaders are on record as saying they are perfectly content to fight to the death of the last Palestinian. Of course, most of their political leaders are living in comfort in Qatar while Palestinians in the Gaza Strip suffer.
The current Israeli government is filled with right-wing imperialist lunatics headed by a Prime Minister who is clinging to power and avoidance of a jail sentence for past corruption is no better. They bear responsibility for their poor initial response on October 7, 2023. Their battle and post-war plans have come into question from some of their own military experts who want no part of occupying Gaza or the West Bank.
For almost 30 years, Netanyahu has never been a trustworthy partner. Just ask Bill Clinton. Ask Barack Obama. Ask Joe Biden.
He (based on his upbringing in the Revisionist Zionist-Irgun camp,) like the Hamas and Palestinian extremists in the Fatah P.L.O. party, has never wanted a two-state solution
Do not be surprised if he does not try to stall or damage the cease-fire deal to help his friend Jared’s father-in-law: Donald Trump.
This meme on social media probably sums up what a better world would be like for everyone.
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