(Commentary) Jonathan Schanzer - Biden Administration policies have put Israeli soldiers in greater danger. On the eve of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, in March, the White House warned Israel to halt its military advance on Rafah as the IDF was on the cusp of destroying Hamas, defying the predictions of most Middle East experts. When Ramadan was over, the White House moved the goal posts. The U.S. began to warn of a potential humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The State Department went so far as to suggest that Israel could be guilty of war crimes in Rafah. The White House even threatened to halt the provision of ammunition to Israel. Never mind that Israel had kept the civilian to militant casualty count lower than any of America's previous engagements in Iraq or Afghanistan. Then, in mid-May, a major lawfare campaign against Israel kicked into high gear. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) charges of siege warfare leveled at Israel would likely have never been aired had the State Department not first suggested it was occurring in the first place. The cumulative effect of all of this over the last three months has prompted the IDF to halt its advance in Rafah, and to move much slower than it originally anticipated. These three months of relative quiet afforded Hamas the time to prepare the lethal booby traps and IEDs that are now killing Israeli soldiers. The writer is senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2024-06-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive