{"id":17880,"date":"2023-12-14T12:15:17","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T20:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=17880"},"modified":"2023-12-14T12:15:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T20:15:19","slug":"israel-ignore-us-appeals-about-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/israel-ignore-us-appeals-about-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel can and will ignore US appeals to minimize casualties in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Conversation_Biden_Conflicts_Hero-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Conversation_Biden_Conflicts_Hero-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Conversation_Biden_Conflicts_Hero-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/12\/Conversation_Biden_Conflicts_Hero-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Israeli Army troops deployed at the Israel-Gaza border. (Photo: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=politics\">Politics<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Israel can and will ignore US appeals to minimize casualties in Gaza<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Conflict has escalated between Joe Biden and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war. But a national security veteran says the US has little leverage over Israel.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Gregory F. Treverton<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">December 14, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p><em>While the Biden administration has maintained its strong support of Israel\u2019s war aim of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/11\/05\/1210734100\/israel-says-its-goal-is-to-remove-hamas-from-power-what-comes-next-is-unclear\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eliminating Hamas in Gaza<\/a>, that support has for weeks been tempered by statements from U.S. officials saying Israel needs to minimize deaths of civilians as it continues fighting.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Those mild rebukes appear to have been ignored by the Israelis. Their continued widespread bombing has raised the death toll in Gaza, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/wireStory\/ambush-kills-7-israeli-soldiers-gaza-city-battles-105614856\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hamas-run Health Ministry, to 18,600<\/a>. And the growing tension between Biden and Israel\u2019s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, broke into the open on Dec. 12. Biden warned Israel that it is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/12\/12\/politics\/biden-israel-losing-support-netanyahu\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">losing support<\/a>\u201d over the war. Netanyahu publicly disagreed with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/israels-netanyahu-rejects-u-s-plan-for-post-war-gaza-d60fc0c3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. goal of having the Palestinian Authority run Gaza<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Conversation\u2019s senior politics and democracy editor Naomi Schalit interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/gregory-treverton\/\">Gregory F. Treverton of USC Dornsife<\/a>, a former chairman of the National Intelligence Council in the Obama administration, about the divisions between Israel and the U.S. In the end, Israel\u2019s behavior, says Treverton, shows \u201cthe limits of influence\u201d the U.S. holds.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The U.S. has criticized Israel\u2019s conduct of the war. Israel has ignored that criticism. That looks like humiliation for the Biden administration. What is going on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a pattern we\u2019ve seen before. We saw it in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/2006-Lebanon-War\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the war Israel fought against Hezbollah in Lebanon<\/a> in 2006. The U.S. was trying to push Israel to be more humane in the way they conducted that war. So while the disagreement is not especially new, it is not just humiliating but also shows the limits of influence.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, throughout the U.S.-Israeli relationship, there has been a lot of the tail wagging the dog. Israel has been good at playing American politics. And so it is hard to put the kind of pressure on Israel that the objective facts would suggest the U.S. should be able to wield. After all, Israel is by far the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/best-countries\/articles\/2023-10-10\/how-much-aid-does-the-u-s-give-to-israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">biggest recipient of U.S. foreign aid<\/a>. And the U.S. has stood with Israel firmly for a very long time. So to that extent, it is a bit humiliating that all that apparent influence doesn\u2019t get listened to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is Israel, as you say, \u201cvery good at this\u201d because they they live in a rough neighborhood, or because of the pressure domestic politics plays on Biden? What gives them the power to do this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Surely it is partly the rough neighborhood \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/netanyahu-we-live-in-a-tough-neighborhood\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Israelis certainly see themselves<\/a> as living in a very rough neighborhood. So the typical pattern is the U.S. says \u201cgo easier.\u201d Israel says \u201cgive us a few more days.\u201d That was the pattern in 2006 and has been the pattern this time \u2013 Israel asks for a little bit more time to accomplish its military objective. But if its ability to ignore U.S. demands stems primarily from living in a rough neighborhood, Israel does have a lot of influence in the United States. Majorities in both parties in Congress support Israel, though there is increasing dissent over that support on college campuses and elsewhere. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2023\/12\/08\/views-of-the-israel-hamas-war\/#:%7E:text=Overall%2C%20Democrats%20are%20far%20more,.%2012%25%2C%20respectively\">In a recent Pew poll<\/a>, four times as many Democrats as Republicans in the U.S. thought Israel was going too far in its military operation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Biden recently said Israel is \u201closing support\u201d over the war and its \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-israel-hamas-oct-7-44c4229d4c1270d9cfa484b664a22071\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indiscriminate bombing of Gaza<\/a>.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/israels-netanyahu-rejects-u-s-plan-for-post-war-gaza-d60fc0c3#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CAfter%20the%20great%20sacrifice%20of,Bank%2C%20in%20a%20statement%20Tuesday.\">Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority will never run Gaza<\/a>, despite U.S. support for that idea. What does this more open division tell us?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It tells us that things are getting worse between the two countries for sure. It obviously reflects the frustration on Biden\u2019s part and the administration\u2019s part. It is a marker, I think, of how <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/israel-hamas-war-news-12-12-2023-b52ae70a89443728517f1d3d7508992c#:%7E:text=RAFAH%2C%20Gaza%20Strip%20(AP),calls%20for%20a%20cease%2Dfire.\">isolated Israel is now in global public opinion<\/a> and is obviously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/dec\/12\/united-nations-general-assembly-vote-ceasefire-israel-gaza-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">taking the U.S. with it<\/a>. So that\u2019s a big source of frustration for the administration. It really is time for some kind of cease-fire again, and maybe another release of some hostages. But that doesn\u2019t seem in the cards soon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are Biden\u2019s options at this point? It sounds like you\u2019re saying Biden doesn\u2019t have much that he can do. And, in fact, it looks like within Israel, Netanyahu \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/dec\/13\/benjamin-netanyahu-accused-of-campaigning-at-time-of-war-israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whose government may fall once the war slows or ends<\/a> \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/2023-12-12\/ty-article\/.premium\/israel-is-at-war-and-netanyahu-just-launched-his-re-election-campaign\/0000018c-5f3f-de43-affd-ff3ff7c60000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is using Biden\u2019s disapproval to shore up his political standing<\/a> with his right-wing supporters.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Certainly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/2023-12-12\/ty-article\/.premium\/israel-is-at-war-and-netanyahu-just-launched-his-re-election-campaign\/0000018c-5f3f-de43-affd-ff3ff7c60000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Netanyahu\u2019s playing to the right<\/a> makes the problem even harder for the Biden administration. Netanyahu\u2019s problem is more his right flank than Washington. And so that makes it difficult for the U.S. to exert the kind of influence it should. And we still don\u2019t have an understanding of what the Israeli sense of the endgame is. On the current track, they wind up, it seems, occupying Gaza. They surely don\u2019t want to do that. My guess is behind the scenes the Israelis are thinking about some option involving the Palestinian Authority, even though Israel says it wants no part of that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Biden went to a fundraiser the other day and told attendees that Netanyahu was the leader of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/12\/us\/politics\/biden-israel-war-gaza-netanyahu.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the most conservative government<\/a> in Israel\u2019s history\u201d that \u201cdoesn\u2019t want a two-state solution\u201d to the Palestinian conflict. \u201cI think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,\u201d Biden said. When a president makes such a statement in a fundraiser, it\u2019s not going to remain secret. What an extraordinary thing for a head of state to say about another government.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It amounts in some sense to calling for regime change in Israel. We all assume that once the war is over, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2023\/12\/05\/netanyahu-wars-win-lose-political-endgame-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Netanyahu will be gone<\/a>. But obviously if he has any thoughts of staying on, he does need to think about a different coalition. World opinion is going to force him to think seriously about the Palestinians, if not about a two-state solution. Whatever else has happened, Hamas certainly succeeded in its objective of getting the Palestinians\u2019 desire for statehood back on the global agenda. And Netanyahu is going to have to deal with that at some point.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the elements that Biden has to consider as he manages this situation going into the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He starts with generally strong American support for Israel that cuts across both parties. But the thing he needs to cope with is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/11\/08\/politics\/democrats-israel-divide-deepens\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increasing concern among progressives, especially young people in the Democratic Party<\/a>, that there\u2019s way too much suffering by the Palestinians, that something has to be done. And now it seems to me there\u2019s almost a global consensus that this war needs to end. That\u2019s the challenge that the administration faces: to try and heed that global consensus while letting Israel do the things it feels it needs to do in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s really an impossible circle for Biden to square. President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2018\/08\/27\/lbj-is-born-in-stonewall-texas-aug-27-1908-791788\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lyndon Johnson used to say<\/a> that sometimes being president was like being a mule in a hailstorm. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to do but to stand there and take it,\u201d he said.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/219791\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/gregory-f-treverton-392037\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gregory F. Treverton<\/a>, Professor of Practice in International Relations, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/israel-can-and-will-ignore-us-appeals-to-minimize-casualties-in-gaza-219791\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/why-trump-is-really-targeting-greenland\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Why Trump is really targeting Greenland<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/calis-teaches-teens-to-understand-a-changing-world\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Teaching teens to understand a changing world<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/russia-ukraine-war-analysis-by-international-relations-experts\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What will it take to end the Russia-Ukraine war? Two experts tell us<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conflict has escalated between Joe Biden and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war. But a national security veteran says the US has little leverage over Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[87,85,83],"class_list":["post-17880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-international-relations","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Israel can and will ignore US appeals to minimize casualties in Gaza<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Conflict has escalated between Joe Biden and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war. But a national security veteran says the US has little leverage over Israel.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/israel-ignore-us-appeals-about-gaza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israel can and will ignore US appeals to minimize casualties in Gaza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Conflict has escalated between Joe Biden and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war. 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