US support for Israel is strong, but containing the conflict in our region is a supreme American interest, and it remains to be seen whether Washington will also dictate restraint that will make it difficult for Israel to succeed in completing its mission in the Gaza Strip.
The United States has provided support for Israel’s war from the outset. In President Joe Biden’s first speech after Hamas’ barbaric attack, he promised unconditional support for Israel and compared Hamas to ISIS. He announced additional military aid to Israel, including armaments and interceptors for the Iron Dome missile defense system, and noted the US would make sure Israel would not run out of resources vital to the war effort. His speech also linked funding for Ukraine and financial support for Israel. Another step taken by President Biden was to dispatch a task force headed by an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean, and later on, he sent another carrier. The objective is to project power and deter Iran and Hezbollah from joining the war against Israel.
There is no doubt that the United States is standing with Israel in a manner that is unprecedented, impressive and encouraging. In addition to the visits by the US secretaries of defense and state, the US Secretary of State participated in a long meeting with Israel’s war cabinet. The US President also came to Israel to demonstrate American friendship, and he too met with the war cabinet. Biden emphasized that Israel’s security is extremely important to the United States, and it may be willing to fight alongside Israel if the need arises.
The military and political presence of the United States alongside Israel, and in the East Mediterranean, is necessary to preserve America’s vital interests in the region. It is clear to the US administration that the expansion of the conflict into a regional conflagration will also affect other arenas, Ukraine and the South China Sea. Iran, which may be interested in an escalation is supported by Russia and China. Containing the conflict in our region is a supreme American interest. Subsequently, the troubling question at this time is whether America will also dictate restraint that will make it difficult for Israel to succeed in completing its mission in the Gaza Strip.
The US embrace of Israel is certainly encouraging, but, at the same time, it also conveys Israeli weakness. The depth of American involvement and statements by senior Israeli officials regarding the American commitment to potentially intervene may convey a lack of confidence in Israel’s capabilities to defend itself independently. The nature of American involvement, primarily that of senior administration officials, including the president, in Israeli decision-making, is troubling. It seems that there is a lack of trust on the part of the United States regarding Israel’s resilience, or, alternatively, fear of an Israeli response that could lead to an escalation that would endanger American interests. American support is turning into a kind of “bear hug” that may reduce Israel’s leeway both militarily and when it comes to the hostages, among whom there are American citizens. Thus, for example, the idea of releasing only foreign nationals among the abductees is problematic both morally (the distorted logic of selection) and operationally. Moreover, it weakens pressure levers on Hamas, which has already announced that it will make an effort to release abductees with foreign citizenship, thereby improving its legitimacy among Western countries.
It is important to remember that there is no full overlap between Israeli interests and global American interests. American interests will always prevail, as happened in the Yom Kippur War during the siege of the Egyptian Third Army. The American presence and its nature at this time are important, but they also project Israeli weakness and harm its deterrence. There may be those who, partly because of a severe lack of trust in the current Israeli leadership, feel more secure given such deep American involvement. Yet, this comes at the cost of projecting weakness inwardly to Israeli society, which, as we have said, is already experiencing a severe crisis of trust towards the country’s leadership and institutions.
Israel’s room for maneuver is limited and converges under the umbrella of American backing. The limitation stems from the necessary price tag inherent in such involvement, and the United States’ outspoken and significant support for Israel. There are no “free meals”: The Americans are also here to ensure their vital interests in the region and in other arenas that will be affected by regional developments.
The United States is not alone in standing by Israel. Other Western countries have expressed solidarity, notably Germany, France and Britain. Despite the parallels between Hamas and ISIS, as far as the international community is concerned, Hamas is a different case. ISIS was perceived as a threat to the entire Western world, while Hamas is perceived as a threat only to Israel. In light of this, Hamas continues to enjoy legitimacy in some Western countries. The West has not yet understood that the threat faced by Israel is only the tip of the iceberg of a greater, global peril – radical Islam. This constitutes a broad threat, and Israel is also fighting a world war for the free West and acts as a barrier against a barbarian invasion into the heart of Western civilization.
American assistance with weapons is critical to the success of the war, and especially to the ability to manage resources in preparation for a confrontation with Hezbollah. However, Israeli leaders should prioritize the vital interests of the State of Israel. It seems that the United States has not yet internalized the problematic nature of its traditional policy that views the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the solution. It would be difficult to find a responsible entity in Israel that would accept the PA as a responsible partner in the Gaza Strip following the Simchat Torah pogrom.
Israeli decision-makers should insist on two principles vis-à-vis its allies in the United States. First, the State of Israel will continue to fight until the destruction of all the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and should insist on nothing short of elimination of the Hamas presence in the Gaza Strip. The second principle: Israel should maintain security responsibility in the Gaza Strip for many years to come.
There is a price for US support for Israel. However, in the reality created after the attack on the Gaza envelope, we must not compromise. The supreme test will be the rehabilitation of the Israeli communities near the Gaza border, which will be sustained only by the security provided by the IDF and security organizations.
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Photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire / Cameron Smith / White House
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