President Joe Biden completed a successful short visit to Israel on Wednesday. Biden declared that Israeli “bravery is stunning. I’m proud to be here.” He claimed that the U.S. would ensure Israel had “what you need to defend yourselves.” And the president emphasized a U.S. assessment that Israel was not responsible for the explosion at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday. Quickly blamed on Israel by Hamas and many others, that explosion was actually the result of a Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket failure.
The political risks entailed by Biden’s visit were significant. Had Israel been responsible for the hospital strike, Biden’s visit would have been perceived as having endorsed it. The coverage in Arab and global Islamic media would have been catastrophic, putting particular pressure on America’s close ally Jordan’s King Abdullah II. It would also have increased the risk of terrorist attacks against U.S. diplomats and citizens around the world. Instead, Biden showed Hamas up for its lies over the hospital incident and secured Israel’s support for a humanitarian aid corridor from Egypt into southern Gaza.
