This has to be understood in the current context. Israel has been waging war on the civilians of Gaza, with massive destruction of civilian infrastructure, displacing a big majority of the Gazans, and is waging a deliberate campaign of starvation against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Through it all, the Biden Administration has made politely worded public diplomatic criticisms of Netanyahu’s actions. But through it all, the Administration continues to provide military aid to Israel even while Netanyahu’s government is blatantly committing war crimes.
Kaplan writes about the US abstention on a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, which allowed it to pass:
So why was Netanyahu so bent out of shape by the U.S. abstention? Because one token of U.S. support for Israel, over the years, is its practice of vetoing Security Council resolutions meant to condemn or punish Israel, even when the resolutions have substantive merit. In this light, the abstention sends a powerful signal—that the U.S. is no longer going to kowtow to Israel just for the sake of kowtowing. The message is particularly potent, coming on top of other recent acts of signal-sending—Biden calling Israel’s bombing of Gaza “over the top,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging his Israeli counterpart not to launch an offensive into Rafah, and Sen. Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections, warning that Netanyahu’s far-right coalition threatens to turn Israel into a “pariah” state.
But Netanyahu’s response—canceling a trip to Washington by a five-man delegation that he had previously authorized—is another instance of over-the-top behavior. He was saying he doesn’t care what Biden or his national security aide has to say, he doesn’t care what the world—even the United States—thinks about Israel’s actions. A few days earlier, Netanyahu said he’d recently told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he hoped Israel will go into Rafah with U.S. support, “but if we have to, we will do it alone.” Now Netanyahu was saying, in effect, “Screw it, I don’t care what you think—we’re going in alone.” (1) [my emphasis]
Watching the public diplomatic show is important. And experienced analysts like Kaplan can translate the diplomatic show for the public.
But as long as the starvation campaign continues, the most obvious assumption is that Netanyahu intends to continue its current ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza.
Dahlia Scheindlin reports on the state of Israel’s starvation campaign against Gaza civilians - and its propaganda denial by the government:
In addition to waging a war of shocking brutality against civilians, the narrative-makers are busy doing the unthinkable: denying hunger in Gaza. Caveat: the word for "hunger" and "famine" are identical in Hebrew, but it's splitting hairs to argue that they deny famine, not hunger. The aim is to absolve Israel.
These efforts range from clownish to methodical. Yoseph Haddad, Israel's favorite Arab hasbarista, has proclaimed that there is no famine in Gaza – so it must be true. Some YouTuber named Tal Louria posted a selfie video simply saying there cannot be any famine in Gaza, because he hasn't seen pictures of people starving "like in Africa." Clearly he hasn't looked hard enough (though one doesn't need to).
Officials tend to be less clownish, with strategies of denial deflection. Just last week, Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, told Arutz 7: "If there is even a problem of lack of food in Gaza Strip – and we claim otherwise – only the Hamas terrorists are to blame, who loot humanitarian aid that Israel allows to enter with no limitations." (2) [my emphasis]
Even Sen. Lindsay Graham is jumping on this bandwagon, further degrading whatever may be left of his reputation:
In a series of videos posted on X, formerly Twitter, Graham stood alongside Netanyahu as he reiterated his support for Israel and its efforts against militant group Hamas. In the first video posted, Netanyahu thanked Graham for his “consistent support” and described the senator as a “great friend of Israel.” …
Graham eagerly emphasized his support for Israel amid the recent disagreements between [the US and Israel] the countries. …
Graham pushed back on allegations that Israel is using starvation as a “weapon of war,” calling it “bullshit” and “blood libel” in another video.
“That is bullshit. And I will tomorrow walk through the food that’s coming into Gaza and what you’re doing to make sure that people in Gaza are do not starve. So Israel is — got its back against the wall. We have your back,” he said. (3) [my emphasis]
Scheindlin gives us a reality-check on these ridiculous claims:
If you want to know what's actually happening in Gaza, there are professionals and experts to tell you – that's what the Israeli government wants you to avoid. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has been tracking the risk and onset of famine with transparent methodology, data and on-the-ground sources; data is collected and analyzed via methods repeated around the world, in at least 54 different countries. The full report is available at a click.
The organization's analysis, concluded in mid-March, found that 70 percent of Gazans in the north (about 210,000 people), are facing Phase 5 food insecurity – catastrophe. In the southern regions, where the hasbara crowds have been arguing vigorously that markets are open and food is plentiful, the report found that the Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah governates are in Phase 4 – a state of emergency. All of Gaza is facing acute food insecurity. [my emphasis]
And she adds this point:
Denialists want you to just believe everyone else is wrong because they said so. They have their own facts. A cottage industry has already sprung up on the right denying the number of deaths in Gaza; one of them is at least authored by a data scientist (in Tablet) – a guy who also argued against vaccines in summer camps and seems comfortably ensconced at Wharton, far from Gaza. He graciously thanks the person who helped "check and correct" his numbers, a board member of Honest Reporting, an "Israel=good" media gotcha group. At least he linked to the source data: a single jpeg file, with no identifying markings and no link or source indicated. In fact, if the number of deaths in Gaza are off, they're probably being undercounted. [my emphasis]
Yes, it’s grotesque. And the Biden Administration is still providing military aid to the Israeli government responsible for all this.
Democracy Now! features this interview with Alex de Waal, an actual expert on the grim topic of famine (4):
Notes:
(1) Kaplan, Fred (2024): Why Netanyahu Is Deliberately Alienating His Strongest Allies. Slate 03/26/2024. <https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/03/why-netanyahu-really-canceled-his-visit-to-washington.html> (Accessed: 2024-27-03).
(2) Scheindlin, Dahlia (2024): Inside Israel's Disturbing Denial of Starvation in Gaza. Haaretz 03/26/2024. <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-26/ty-article/.premium/inside-israels-disturbing-denial-of-starvation-in-gaza/0000018e-7b41-d680-a1cf-ff47b4220000> (Accessed: 2024-26-03).
(3) Sforza, Lauren (2024): Graham posts series of videos with Netanyahu after UN vote spat. The Hill 03/26/2024. <https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4558007-graham-netanyahu-videos-israel-un-vote/> (Accessed: 2024-26-03).
(4) As Israel Blocks More U.N. Aid, Gaza Is on the Brink of "Most Intense Famine" Since WW2. Democracy Now! YouTube channel 03/25/2024.
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