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News Analysis
President Biden, at least in public, has limited his responses to Israel’s war in Gaza to more and more statements.
By David E. Sanger and Peter Baker
David E. Sanger and Peter Baker have been in conflict in the Middle East for several decades, from their positions in Washington and around the world.
When President Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the killing of seven World Central Kitchen staff members in Gaza, his blunt language raised a natural question: Would this attack, even if it were a tragic mistake, lead him to impose situations on the population?What weapons do you send to Israel?
So far, the White House has been silent on whether Biden would lead to a breaking point with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom all interactions have been tense. The two are expected to speak Thursday, according to a senior Biden administration official. But at least in public, Biden has limited his responses to more and more statements.
Launching a bombing crusade on the southern city of Rafah would cross a “red line,” Biden insisted, without laying out the consequences. The attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy is further evidence that Israel “has not done enough to protect aid workers,” he said Tuesday, without specifying how it changes its practice.
“I hope this is the moment when the president adjusts his course,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and one of Hollen’s most enthusiastic supporters. Biden, who has been pushing for months to impose situations on U. S. -supplied countries. weapons. ” Netanyahu ignored the president’s demands, and yet we are sending 2,000-pound bombs with no restrictions on their use. “
“We don’t send bombs first and wait for guarantees later,” he concluded.
Situations for the use of U. S. weapons are standard, some imposed through Congress and others through the president or secretary of state. Ukraine, for example, cannot fire U. S. -made weapons at Russia, and while it has complied, there is still an ongoing debate within the leadership about whether more powerful missiles should be supplied to Kyiv if an aid package is ever passed in Congress.
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