(RightWing.org) – The Biden administration has generally supported Israel during its current war against Hamas, but it’s also hoping to use the crisis to persuade the Jewish state to allow the Palestinians to have their own state. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been trying to sell this idea at the World Economic Forum (WEF) conference in Davos. Unfortunately for him, Middle Eastern leaders don’t seem too impressed.
Blinken Pushes for Land Deal
From January 15 to January 17, Secretary Blinken attended the WEF’s annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. During his two-day visit, he discussed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which is causing tension throughout the Middle East as Iran uses its influence to increase pressure on Tel Aviv. The Biden administration has helped Israel with emergency funding and weapons deliveries, despite the pro-Palestinian beliefs of many Democrats, but it can’t resist trying to push its agenda, In particular, Biden hopes the US can use its support as leverage to make Israel give the Palestinians their own, fully independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Discussions over a two-state solution to the 75-year-old Israel-Palestine dispute have faltered in recent years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t a fan of the idea, and in fact, on January 17 he said that, for security reasons, Israel needs to control “all territory west of Jordan” — in other words its current territory, plus Gaza and the West Bank.
He admitted this conflicts with the idea of Palestinian sovereignty, but asked “What can you do?” In his opinion what NOT to do is give the Palestinians a state; after the October 7 terrorist attacks, many Israelis fear a Palestinian state would simply become a base for more aggression against them. The White House thinks differently, but Netanyahu doesn’t seem ready to back down, and he has a lot of domestic support for his tough stance.
Iraq Calls Out Biden’s Weakness
Iraq is one of the Middle Eastern countries hit hardest by the war. In a bid to make the US pressure Israel into a ceasefire, Iran has been using the terrorist groups it influences to attack American military targets in Iraq. On January 18, Iraqi leader Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani spoke at Davos, and he wasn’t complimentary about Biden’s plan.
Al Sudani pointed out that whatever plans the Biden administration has, a Palestinian state isn’t going to happen unless Israel agrees to it — and, right now they have little reason to do that. Unfortunately, if the US says it wants something to happen but then a medium-sized country that gets billions a year in American funding ignores it, that damages our credibility.
When Biden took office, the US reputation in the Middle East had been buffed by the Abraham Accords negotiated by former president Donald Trump. Now that reputation is fading again.
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