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BIDEN ‘MOVING THE GOAL POST’ WITH THREAT TO WITHHOLD BOMBS FROM
ISRAEL  
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Brett Wilkins
May 8, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ "Now Israel has a green light to destroy Rafah in slow motion,"
said one critic. _

A Palestinian child injured following an Israeli strike is treated by
medics at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on
Wednesday, [Haitham Imad/EPA]

 

While some Palestine
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welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's threat to withhold bombs and
artillery shells from Israel
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invasion of Rafah, critics noted that an invasion is already underway
and accused the American leader of walking back a previous "red line"
warning against an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza
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Biden said for the first time that he'll stop sending bombs, artillery
shells, and other arms to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
orders a major invasion of Rafah, where more than a million
Palestinians forcibly displaced from other parts of the embattled Gaza
Strip are sheltering alongside around 280,000 local residents.

Referring to Israel's use of U.S.-supplied
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bombs—which can destroy an entire city block and have been used in
some of the war's worst atrocities—Biden told
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Erin Burnett that "civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence
of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population
centers."

Even the U.S. military—which has killed more foreign civilians than
any other armed force on the planet since the end of World War
II—won't use 2,000-pound bombs in urban areas. But Israel does,
including when it launched a strike to assassinate a single Hamas
commander by dropping the munitions
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refugee camp last October, killing more than 120 civilians.

"If they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been
used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities," Biden
said Wednesday.

Israeli forces have already gone into Rafah, and it was reported
Tuesday that Biden was taking the unusual step of delaying
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types of Boeing-made bombs to Israel to send a message to the
country's far-right government. It was, however, a mixed message, as
the president also earlier in the day reaffirmed his support for
Israel's war on Gaza, which the International Court of Justice said
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"plausibly" genocidal in a preliminary ruling in January.

Critics noted the shifting and subjective language used by
Biden—who previously said
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Israeli invasion of Rafah would constitute a "red line" resulting in
unspecified consequences.

"He said invading Rafah was a red line. Israel invaded Rafah anyway,
bombing buildings, burning and crushing children to death," political
analyst Omar Baddar said
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media. "Biden is now moving the goal post by adding a completely
subjective descriptor: 'Major.' Now Israel has a green light to
destroy Rafah in slow motion."

During the course of the seven-month Israeli assault on Gaza—which
has killed, maimed, or left missing more than 124,000
Palestinians—Biden has said Israel has killed "too many civilians"
with its "indiscriminate bombing," even as he's pushed for more and
more military aid for the key ally.

Wednesday's interview came on the heels of Biden's approval
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billion emergency military aid package to Israel, multiple moves
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sidestep Congress to fast-track armed assistance, nearly $4 billion in
previously authorized annual military aid, and diplomatic cover in the
form of several
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Nations Security Council vetoes.

Reporting that the Biden administration will delay a highly
anticipated report on whether Israel is using U.S. military aid in
compliance with international law also drew backlash
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from human rights advocates.

Referring to Israel's U.S.-funded anti-missile system, Biden continued
his supportive rhetoric during Wednesday's _CNN_ interview, telling
Burnett that "we're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in
terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks."

But the president added that Israel's use of devastating weaponry
against civilians is "just wrong," and that "we're not going to supply
the weapons and artillery shells."

Some peace groups welcomed Biden's threat to withhold bombs and
artillery shells from Israel, even while urging him to do more to stop
his ally's genocidal onslaught.

"Biden's statement is as necessary as it is over overdue," Jewish
Voice for Peace executive director Stefanie Fox said in a statement.
"The U.S. already bears responsibility for months of catastrophic
devastation: The nearly 40,000 Palestinians that the Israeli military
has killed, the two million Palestinians being intentionally brought
to the brink of famine, the decimation of all universities and almost
every hospital in Gaza."

"Today's statement shows that Biden can no longer ignore the will of
the majority of Americans who want a permanent cease-fire, release of
all hostages, and an end to U.S. complicity in Israeli war crimes,"
Fox added.

_Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Israel-Gaza War
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* US Military Aid
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* Joe Biden
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* Rafah
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