U.S. – Israel August 2024 –

11-13 November
Israel’s West Bank settlers hope Trump’s return will pave the way for major settlement expansion
(AP) — As Donald Trump’s victory became apparent in last week’s U.S. elections, Jewish West Bank settlement advocates popped bottles of champagne and danced to the Bee Gees at a winery in the heart of the occupied territory, according to a post on Instagram. The winery said it was rolling out a special edition red named for the president-elect.
Settlement supporters believe they have plenty of reasons to celebrate. Not only did the expansion of housing for Jews in the West Bank soar past previous records during Trump’s first term, but his administration took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the U.S. Embassy there, and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.
This time around, as Israel is embroiled in a multifront war, settlement advocates believe Trump’s history of fervent support could translate into their supreme goal: Israeli annexation of the West Bank — a move that critics say would smother any remaining hopes for Palestinian statehood. Some are even gunning for resettling Gaza under a Trump administration.

Trump picks former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel
(AP) … Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
Trump picks hardliner Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel
Huckabee, evangelical Christian,…says Israel has rightful claim to West Bank
Noting that “Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law”, Al Jazeera states that Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel signals more about his potential policy towards the US ally in his second term, with many expecting him to go even further than current President Joe Biden in his support for Israel as it wages war on Gaza and Lebanon” adding “Last week, days after Trump was again elected president, Israel tapped Yechiel Leiter, a staunch supporter of settlements in the West Bank, as ambassador to the US.”
Trump win means ‘time has come’ to annex parts of West Bank, Israeli minister says
(WaPo) Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory Monday, saying that “the time has come” to extend full Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
He made the comment a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded statement that he has spoken three times with Trump since the election and that they “see eye to eye on the Iranian threat.”
Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon are set to dominate meetings in the Middle East and at the White House this week, after deadly Israeli airstrikes over the weekend highlighted the increasingly brutal toll.
Israel’s strategic affairs minister to meet Blinken as Gaza deadline nears
(Reuters) – Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday in Washington as a deadline set by Washington to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza nears.
Hopes for a truce in Israel’s war in Gaza suffered a setback, with Qatar suspending its role as a mediator in negotiations. Israel separately said on Monday there was progress in talks about a ceasefire in its war in Lebanon.

24 October
President Biden Would Very Much Like Israel to Stop Shooting at Blue Helmets in Lebanon
If not, UNIFIL may collapse — and that would be very bad
(Global Dispatches) One of the recurring themes of US-Israel relations since October 7 is the frequency with which the Biden administration—including President Biden himself—issues public rebukes of Israeli actions that Israel subsequently ignores. For the most part, this falls under the remit of the complicated and longstanding bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel. But when it comes to attacks on UN peacekeepers, the disconnect between the Biden administration’s words and Israel’s actions can no longer be confined to the give-and-take of bilateral diplomacy. Rather, this becomes a multilateral issue that impacts the United States’ relationship with the United Nations as a whole.
… When UNIFIL was revamped in 2006 following a prior conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Bush administration was an eager champion. … Since then, UNIFIL’s mandate has been renewed on an annual basis through a vote in the Security Council. Four separate U.S. administrations have supported the continued deployment of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. This includes the Biden administration, which just two months ago voted to renew UNIFIL’s mandate.
Israel, meanwhile, is trying to undermine this mission. The attacks against UNIFIL positions have not been accidents or collateral damage. Rather, Israel is deliberately and directly attacking peacekeeping outposts—using bulldozers and tanks. Netanyahu himself has said as much and called for its withdrawal.
The United States cannot both support the continued deployment of UNIFIL and support Israel’s war aims in Lebanon, which apparently include fomenting the collapse of UNIFIL. Should UNIFIL collapse, it would be because troop-contributing countries lack confidence that U.S. pressure can prevent Israel from attacking their soldiers. They will want to pull their troops from harm’s way, and the mission would dissolve from within.

22 October
Blinken presses Israel’s Netanyahu on dire conditions in northern Gaza
(WaPo) Blinken questioned the Israeli leader about a plan backed by some officials to gain control of the north by starving out or killing Palestinians currently there.
Blinken Urges Netanyahu to Seek Truces in Gaza and Lebanon
The U.S. secretary of state, visiting Israel, said the killing of Hamas’s leader last week could create an opening for peace, and he pushed the Israeli prime minister to allow more aid into Gaza.

9 October
Biden and Netanyahu discuss Israel’s response to Iran missile strike
Talks were ‘direct and very productive,’ While House says
Strike on Iran will be ‘lethal, precise and surprising’, Israeli defence minister says
Hezbollah claims to push back Israeli forces along Lebanon border
(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday about potential Israeli retaliation against Iran while Lebanon’s Hezbollah said its fighters pushed back advancing Israeli forces along the border.
The ground clashes, which are spreading along southern Lebanon’s mountainous frontier with Israel, took place with the Gaza war still raging and the Middle East on high alert awaiting Israel’s response to Iran’s missile strike last week.
Biden and Netanyahu Speak for the First Time in Months as Mideast Crisis Deepens …a terse account of the conversation issued by the White House hours later said Mr. Biden “condemned unequivocally Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Oct. 1,” but made no reference to discussions on how to respond — which was the purpose of the call.
Biden speaks with Netanyahu, pledges ‘ironclad’ support for Israel
(Al Jazeera) The call between the two leaders on Wednesday lasted 30 minutes and was their first publicly announced conversation since August.
Biden and Netanyahu speak as Gallant warns of ‘deadly’ surprise attack on Iran
Netanyahu’s defence minister issued the warning in a video message on Israeli media on Wednesday night, broadcast after he postponed a scheduled trip to Washington.
Gallant said that the Iranian missile attack on Israel on 1 October had been a failure but would be avenged.
“Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results,” the Israeli defence minister said.
Gallant’s video message was broadcast a few hours after the conversation between Netanyahu and Biden, their first in seven weeks, which was joined by the vice-president, Kamala Harris, whose presidential campaign could be upset by the widening hostilities in the Middle East and any consequent spike in oil prices. It also emerged on Wednesday that Netanyahu last week spoke with Harris’s opponent, Donald Trump.
The timing and scope of the Israeli retaliation is still unclear, and a miscalculation could propel Iran and Israel into a full-scale war, which neither side says it wants. The US, Israel’s staunch ally, is wary of being drawn into the fighting, and of oil price shocks.

3 September
Thomas Friedman: How Netanyahu Is Trying to Save Himself, Elect Trump and Defeat Harris
If President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris needed any reminder that Benjamin Netanyahu is not their friend, not America’s friend and, most shamefully, not the friend of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, the murder by Hamas of six Israeli souls while Netanyahu dragged out negotiations should make that clear. Netanyahu has one interest: his own immediate political survival, even if it undermines Israel’s long-term survival. …
In his phone calls, Netanyahu has been whispering to America’s leaders in English that he is interested in a cease-fire and a hostage deal and is considering the necessary precursors for what I call the Biden Doctrine. But as soon as he hangs up, in Hebrew, he says things to his base that expressly contradict the Biden Doctrine, because it threatens the Bibi Doctrine.
So, what is the Biden Doctrine, and what is the Bibi Doctrine, and why do they matter?
[31 January
A Biden Doctrine for the Middle East Is Forming. And It’s Big.]
…the Bibi Doctrine…centers on doing everything possible to avoid any political process with the Palestinians that may require a territorial compromise in the West Bank that would break Netanyahu’s political alliance with the Israeli far right.
To that end, Bibi has made sure for years that Palestinians remain divided and unable to have a unified position. He ensured that Hamas remained a viable governing entity in Gaza by, among other things, arranging for Qatar to send Hamas more than $1 billion for humanitarian aid, fuel and government salaries from 2012 to 2018. At the same time, Netanyahu did everything he could to discredit and humiliate the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, who has recognized Israel, embraced the Oslo peace process and partnered with Israel’s security services to try to keep the peace in the West Bank for nearly three decades.

28 August
US imposes sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in West Bank
Targeting of government-funded group active in Hebron hills brings punitive measures closer to Israeli cabinet
The US has announced new sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank who are funded by the Israeli government, as Washington steps up its attempt to rein in worsening settler violence.
The new measures drew a sharp response from the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said it viewed them “with utmost severity” and that the issue was under “pointed discussion” with Washington.
The sanctions target one organisation and one individual with long involvement in the intimidation of Palestinians with the aim of seizing their land. The US Treasury has made them “specially designated nationals”, which means their assets are blocked and US citizens and companies are prohibited from dealing with them.

23 August
What’s blocking a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza?
After rejecting the idea for months, US officials are now arguing that a ceasefire agreement should be signed.
(Al Jazeera) US officials estimate that Israel has achieved all it can militarily in the Gaza Strip, but Israel’s leadership is divided on ending the war, argues Joost Hiltermann, the programme director for the Middle East at the International Crisis Group.
Hiltermann tells host Steve Clemons that Israel’s military believes Hamas has been weakened enough for now, while its politicians argue that the war should be open-ended, allowing for a resumption after Israeli captives are released.
The question remains: is the United States content to allow the internal Israeli debate to run its course, even if that means endless war on Gaza?

18-21 August
Biden speaks with Netanyahu as US prods Israel and Hamas to come to agreement on cease-fire deal
(AP) Hamas and Israel have signaled that challenges remain amid significant differences over the presence of Israeli troops in two strategic corridors in Gaza and other issues, dimming Biden’s hopes that a deal can soon be reached. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Chicago this week to accept her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention, also joined the call.
Biden “stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure,” the White House said in a statement. The two leaders also discussed using high-level talks in Cairo this week between mediators from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar to work through “remaining obstacles” to an agreement.
But by Tuesday, Biden was notably more muted about the prospects of the two sides coming to an agreement soon. He told reporters after delivering an address at the Democratic convention that “Hamas was now backing off,” but that the U.S. is “going to keep pushing” to land a cease-fire deal.
The call came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met this week with officials in Israel, Egypt, and Qatar and ahead of the new round of talks in Cairo later this week.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said after meeting with Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Officials in Egypt told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas won’t agree to the bridging proposal for a number of reasons — ones in addition to the long-held wariness over whether a deal would truly remove Israeli forces from Gaza and end the war.
Key mediator Egypt expresses skepticism about the Gaza cease-fire proposal as more details emerge
Key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism Wednesday about the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas as more details emerged a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo.
The challenges around the so-called bridging proposal appeared to undermine the optimism for an imminent agreement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried into his latest Mideast visit this week.
Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation.
Blinken says Israel OKs a plan to break the cease-fire impasse and urges Hamas to do the same
(AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the militant group had been addressed.
The high-stakes negotiations have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war.
Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and will travel to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations. The three mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, with the talks repeatedly stalling.
… He added, however, that even if Hamas accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement.” He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics.
Hamas has said it is losing faith in the U.S. as a mediator, accusing American negotiators of siding with Israel as it makes new demands that the militant group rejects. Blinken did not say whether the proposal addressed Israel’s demand for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza — which Hamas has said is a nonstarter — or other issues that have long bedeviled the negotiations.
Blinken warns Israel, Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war
By Humeyra Pamuk and Nidal Al-Mughrabi
‘Decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity’
Negotiations to resume this week based on US ‘bridging proposal’
(Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement. …
Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.
There are disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.

Blinken visits Israel, but Hamas, Netanyahu far apart on Gaza truce
US, Qatar, Egypt are mediating to secure a ceasefire and captive swap deal as the death toll in Gaza rises to more than 40,000.
(Al Jazeera) Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday, days after the US put forward proposals that it and mediators Qatar and Egypt believe would close gaps between Israel and Hamas.

16 August
U.S. puts new proposal on table to try to close Gaza deal gaps
(Axios) The U.S. presented a new bridging proposal to Israel and Hamas on Friday in an effort to close the remaining gaps in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement.
The U.S. with support from Egypt and Qatar, presented to both parties a bridging proposal that is consistent with the principles laid out by President Biden on May 31, 2024 and Security Council Resolution No. 2735,” they said.
“This proposal builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal.”
A source with knowledge of the talks told Axios: “We got more progress over the last two days than the last six weeks combined.”

Max Boot: Biden’s failure to hold Netanyahu to account creates a moral hazard
Netanyahu acts recklessly, as war risks rise, confident of Biden’s backing
In economics, “moral hazard” is a term for what happens when one party has an incentive to engage in risky behavior because some other actor will protect it from the consequences of its own actions. We are now seeing how moral hazard works in the Israel-U.S. alliance as the Middle East stands poised on the brink of a major conflict between Israel and Iran.
Clearly neither Iran nor Israel is eager for a full-blown war. Why is that possibility looming again?
… With the possibility of another war threatening to break out, President Joe Biden has scrambled the U.S. military to deter an Iranian attack and to defend Israel should it occur. The United States has deployed a formidable naval and air armada to the region, including an aircraft carrier strike group and an amphibious assault ship, along with multiple destroyers and at least one guided-missile submarine. The massive U.S. response has at least made the mullahs think hard about how they will respond to Israel’s assassinations to avoid a war with Washington.