There has been a pattern in these disputes. Israel is attacked by Hamas. The White House declares that Israel is on its side. Israel conducts a few airstrikes. People perish in airstrikes. According to Hamas, there were a lot of civil fatalities. Egyptian Arab nations in the area offer to negotiate a ceasefire. Israel is under pressure from the White House to agree, and it demands a timeline for when the fighting will end. Will this turn out any separately given the Hamas attack’s utter horror, scope, and apparent unity? Biden’s speech contained some excellent moral outrage, as I already mentioned. Social outrage, however, is rhetoric. How about the policy? Policy, in contrast to outrage, is about specifics. And while Biden’s condemnation of the atrocities committed by Hamas was well received, there is an whole section that hits a very diverse and well-known note. ” I just ended a second call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I assured him that we would respond quickly, decisively, and forcefully if the United States went through what Israel is going through. We even talked about how acting in accordance with the rule of law makes democracies like Israel and the United States stronger and safer. Terrorists intentionally target civilians and kill them. The law of war is upheld by us. It is important. There is a distinction:” Behind the soft language( that of the speechwriter, not Biden ), there is an established story.” Hamas, which operates in industrial areas and hides behind its own citizens, must be eliminated by Israel in order to prevent the deaths of enemy citizens. Residents of Gaza have been warned by Hamas never to flee and to leave the areas where Israel has threatened to strike because it wants them to perish. The Israel Defense Force ( IDF) has been warning Gaza Strip residents to leave areas that are about to be targeted in strikes in advance of airstrikes against targets belonging to the terror groups and in an effort to reduce civilian casualties. Residents of the Gaza Strip have been warned by media outlets run by Hamas and PIJ never to heed these warnings, share them, or forward them to others in response to these messages.
An essential note: We reiterate our call for the residents to ignore the voice messages being sent arbitrarily by the occupation to their phones demanding that they leave their homes. This was written on the ministry’s Telegram channel on October 10, 2023, by Hamas’ interior ministry spokesperson department. Their objective is to incite fear and panic as part of a mental warfare campaign that goes along with the occupation’s hostility toward us. These are the same guidelines that Israel has followed in previous conflicts, and they are ineffective. The Biden administration is also cautioning Israel not to take” disproportionate” action.” We remain focused on holding the terrorists accountable for their attacks, and we support Israel taking necessary and equal action to defend its country and protect its people, in doing so U.S. citizens living, working, or traveling in Israel ,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in an emailed statement. What is the appropriate response to a murderous Islamist terrorist group eradicating entire communities, kidnapping and raping women, abducting children, and killing babies? Watson doesn’t seem to want to think about that idea very much. However, the Biden administration is adhering to the tried-and-true rules, despite some violent rhetoric. Ideally, Israel will stray from it, or else the outcome will be the same as it was during Hamas’ earlier campaigns.
These conflicts have a pattern. Hamas attacks Israel. The White House announces it is behind Israel. Israel launches some air strikes. The air strikes cause deaths. Hamas claims there were many civilian deaths. Local Arab Muslim countries offer a ceasefire. Will this turn out differently, given the horror and scale of Hamas’ attack, and the apparent unity? Moral outrage is a rhetorical tool. What about policy? Policy is more specific than outrage. While people focused on Biden’s condemnation Hamas’ atrocities to their right, there is an entire section which strikes a very familiar and different note. “I just finished my third phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I told him that if we experienced what Israel is going through, our response would swift, decisive and overwhelming. We also discussed how democracies such as Israel and the United States become stronger and more secure if they act according to the law. Terrorists deliberately target civilians and kill them. We uphold laws of war – the law of war. It’s important. There is a difference. “Behind that slick language, (that of Biden’s speechwriter and not the speechwriter) is a familiar story. Israel must take out Hamas who operates in urban areas, hiding behind its own civilians. It is impossible to do this without killing enemy civilians. Hamas has told Gaza residents to not evacuate or leave the areas Israel warned it would strike, because it wants to kill them. “Israel Defense Force (IDF), in an effort to minimize civilian deaths, has sent warning messages to residents of the Gaza Strip before airstrikes on terror group targets. In response to the messages, media outlets run by Hamas or PIJ have instructed residents of Gaza Strip to not heed them and not share them with others.
On October 10, 2023 the Hamas spokesperson department wrote on the Telegram channel of the ministry: “An Important Note: We reiterate our call to the residents to ignore voice messages sent randomly by occupation to their phones requesting that they leave their home. They want to incite panic and fear, as part of the psychological warfare [campaign] that is accompanying occupation’s aggression towards us. The Biden administration has also warned Israel to not be “disproportionate”. In an emailed message, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne W. Watson said, “We are focused on holding terrorists accountable for the attacks and we support Israel in taking necessary and proportionate actions to defend its country, protect its people and U.S. citizens who live, work and travel in Israel.” What is “proportionate”? What’s a reasonable response to a terrorist group that has wiped out entire communities, kidnapped women and raped them, abducted children, and killed babies? I don’t believe Watson will consider this proposition too closely. But the Biden administration, despite its aggressive rhetoric, is following the same old familiar playbook. Israel must deviate from this plan or the outcome will be the same.
