The treachery of Biden’s words

Yesterday, the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution calling for a ceasefire, to which 153 countries voted in favour, 10 voted against and 23 countries abstained. The US, of course, was among the countries that voted against, in line with prioritising Israel’s security narrative.

A day earlier, US President Joe Biden made some contradictory comments during a fundraising event in Washington hosted by the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) former president, Lee Rosenberg.

“Israel’s security can rest on the United States. But, right now, it has more than the United States – it has the European Union, it has most of the world supporting it,” Biden stated, before adding, “But they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”

If Israel was truly losing support, two months and a week since Israel started its military aggression against Gaza, the UN would be doing more that wasting time over non-binding resolutions. Earlier this month, the EU would not have approved a plan of €18 million ($20 million) in funding for “Regional EU-Israel cooperation in support of the Abraham Accords, and fight against anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life” if Biden’s statement was true. The EU’s action plan also “emphasises Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law and international humanitarian law.” Since Israel never complies with either legislation and is never held accountable, it stands to reason that all the EU is concerned with is Israel’s security narrative.

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At a time when Palestinians are experiencing genocide, the EU has pulled all the strings to prioritise Israel’s defence. Significantly, the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, recently stated that Europeans should “now think of the EU as a security project”.

“We’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel,” Biden stated, saying that Israel needs “to finish the job against Hamas”. This has been the US stance since the beginning of Israel’s aggression – where is the US hinting at loss of support?

A report by Reuters today states that White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, will be meeting Israeli officials and asking for precision targeting in Gaza. The US rhetorical play rests solely on Biden’s previous descriptions of Israel’s bombing as “indiscriminate”. But Israel prides itself on its precision strikes, meaning there is no indiscriminate bombing – only premeditated, accurate bombing of Palestinian civilians under the pretext of eradicating Hamas, which is close to never happening because the Resistance Movement does not depend solely on its current members, but on the anti-colonial struggle persisting among Palestinians.

Mitigating diplomatic damage is the most the international community will agree about in the context of Israel’s aggression on Gaza. Israel’s genocidal intent and action has been exposed for the entire world to see; its officials calling for expulsion of the Palestinians from Gaza and for Western leaders to take in Palestinian refugees is also documented. Every action taken by Israel reeks of international impunity, not loss of international support. Biden’s words don’t just ring hollow, they ring treachery.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.