The Biden administration on Friday vowed to continue military assistance to Israel with no public concessions, ignoring calls by the left wing of the Democratic Party to seek a reset in America’s relationship with its closest ally in the Middle East.
President Joe Biden has resisted lawmakers inside his own party who have pressed him to confront Israel directly, instead pursuing a strategy of “quiet diplomacy,” officials said. The United States has also blocked consensus on a series of United Nations Security Council press statements calling for a cessation in fighting, irking other allies.
Asked on Friday whether Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had agreed to the truce or made other concessions in exchange for support of Iron Dome, press secretary Jen Psaki did not respond directly and said the missile defense system was crucial to Israel’s security.
Biden “conveyed that because he felt that the effectiveness of the Iron Dome could help save hundreds of lives, and the president remains steadfast in support of Israel’s right to defend itself but also believes that the effectiveness of the Iron Dome is something that we should continue to support and will continue to support,” Psaki said.
BIDEN BUCKED DEMS ON ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT, THEN NUDGED NETANYAHU TOWARD A CEASEFIRE
Some Democrats have called on Washington to halt military aid to Israel when fighting breaks out, arguing that U.S. weapons are used to commit atrocities in the Gaza Strip.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has led an effort by progressives to halt a pending weapons sales to Israel, with a resolution introduced in the House and Senate this week.
“For decades, the U.S. has sold billions of dollars in weaponry to Israel without ever requiring them to respect basic Palestinian rights. In so doing, we have directly contributed to the death, displacement, and disenfranchisement of millions,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Arriving this week in Michigan, where Biden was scheduled to tour an electric vehicle plant, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and the sole Palestinian American member of Congress, confronted Biden on the tarmac. Days earlier, Tlaib condemned what she called Israel’s “apartheid” and “racist” policies on the House floor and had accused Biden of “taking orders” from Netanyahu. She told Biden that “Palestinian human rights are not bargaining chips” and added that the status quo “is not working,” according to reports.
Psaki said Biden responded to Tlaib by acknowledging “a range of viewpoints as it relates to the conflict in the Middle East.”
“He felt it was important to have a discussion with her on the tarmac so he could convey his point of view, certainly hear hers, and he’ll look forward to continuing to engage moving forward,” she said.
In remarks at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Biden called Tlaib a “fighter” whom he admires.
“I pray that your grandmom and family are well in the West Bank,” he said.
But it’s not just the Left pressing Biden.
After Israeli strikes demolished a building housing international media companies in the Gaza Strip, Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, joined dozens of Democratic senators, including centrists, in urging Biden to press Israel to halt its attacks.
Some question why the U.S. had repeatedly resisted the United Nations Security Council’s statement to urge Israel to halt the fighting, blocking the consensus. Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at International Crisis Group, told the Washington Examiner this week that the view among the members was that while U.S. diplomats in New York saw the case for a U.N. statement, the White House had been “adamantly opposed.”
Instead, Biden told Netanyahu on Wednesday that “he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” setting a deadline for the Israeli leader. Netanyahu appeared to ignore this before announcing progress late Thursday, a characterization the White House rebuked.
The White House has compared the timing of this conflict to the last extended bout of fighting, which occurred in 2014 and lasted 51 days. But that initial ceasefire, the first of nine before the fighting finally ended, came earlier in the process, after six days.
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Moreover, Psaki said the White House would not alter its commitments.
“We have no plans to change our security assistance that we’re providing to Israel,” she said.
