|
Trending Topics
|
A Bad U.S. Weapons Message to Israel
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - The Administration is squeezing Israel hard to abandon its plan to take Hamas' last Gaza stronghold in the city of Rafah. Axios reporter Barak Ravid said Sunday that the U.S. put a hold last week on a shipment of U.S.-made weapons to Israel. The fact that the U.S. didn't deny the report is telling. The Israelis view Ravid as the Biden Administration's preferred media conduit for its leaks about U.S. policy on the Israel and Gaza conflict. Israel's government can't end the war with Hamas' military brigades intact, and that means going into Rafah, as difficult as it may be. The U.S. should be putting pressure on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages. The more Hamas thinks it might be saved by U.S. pressure on Israel, the less likely Hamas is to agree to a ceasefire. That's a recipe for extending the war. Mr. Biden's strategy of pressuring Israel to make concessions that its government and citizens are united against hasn't worked. It hasn't won concessions from Hamas and its allies in Iran and Lebanon. Mr. Biden was in a stronger position, politically and strategically, when he spoke with moral clarity about Hamas and in support of Israel after Oct. 7. The fastest way to end the war is with an Israeli victory, and withholding weapons is exactly the wrong message to send an ally under siege.