TITLE: ‘Give an inch, block a mile’: Netanyahu’s strategy for ties with the US
https://www.timesofisrael.com/give-an-inch-block-a-mile-netanyahus-strategy-for-ties-with-the-us/
EXCERPT: Largely overshadowed by the debate over whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the door open for a potential two-state solution during his Friday phone call with US President Joe Biden was the Israeli decision to allow a large shipment of flour into Gaza for the first time via Ashdod port in southern Israel.
The move is part of Netanyahu’s strategy for managing ties with the Biden administration during the Israel-Hamas war, which features considerable foot-dragging on “tactical demands” made by the US, a senior Israeli official explained.
The premier has eventually acquiesced to a handful of these requests — particularly ones regarding humanitarian aid for Gaza — but not before forcing US officials to use up significant time and energy, depleting their capacity to push for the more “strategic demands” against which Netanyahu has held his ground, the official told The Times of Israel.
The official pointed to Israeli decisions to allow aid into Gaza through Egypt and to reopen its Kerem Shalom Crossing as ones Netanyahu made after weeks of intensive shuttle diplomacy from top US officials.
“These aren’t popular steps to take when the hostages remain [in Gaza], but there’s a recognition that a minimal amount of aid needs to enter the Strip in order to prevent a humanitarian disaster that would force us to stop the fighting,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the premier has stonewalled Biden on planning relating to who will govern Gaza after the war, leaving the US with limited ability to advance its vision of bringing the Palestinian Authority back to the Strip as part of a diplomatic initiative that would also see Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel, which would in exchange agree to take irreversible steps toward an eventual two-state solution.
A Biden administration official all but acknowledged the strategy laid out by the senior Israeli official, telling The Times of Israel, “There’s definitely a feeling that Bibi gives us an inch in order to block us from going a mile.”
The same strategy is seemingly unfolding with regard to the phasing of the war.
For almost two months, the US has urged Israel to transition to lower-intensity fighting in Gaza to limit the number of civilian casualties and allow for a surge in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Last week, Israel announced that its high-intensity operations in northern Gaza had concluded, a development quickly hailed by the US.
But the Israeli official explained that high-intensity fighting continues in southern Gaza and that the pledge Netanyahu made to continue the war until Hamas is defeated remains in place, even as the IDF withdrew one of its divisions from the enclave — a move it planned to make regardless.
TITLE: How The Biden-Netanyahu Standoff Could Sway The Political Destiny Of Each Man
https://worldcrunch.com/focus-israel-palestine-war/biden-netanyahu
EXCERPT: The disagreements between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden are now out in the open. And unsurprisingly, they are about the post-war period, and specifically the “two-state” solution.
These diplomatic tensions are rare between the two allies, especially in times of war. Friday's call between Biden and Netanyahu was the first one in a month. Following the conversation, reports coming out of Washington indicated that the Israeli prime minister was not opposed to the two-state solution.
The next day, in the middle of Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, when all political activity is usually on pause, the Israeli prime minister issued a denial of those reports: no, he does not agree at all to a two-state solution.
Netanyahu went even further by declaring that Israel’s intentions are to keep security control over “all territory west of the Jordan River,” that is to say over an area which covers both the State of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. A second sovereign state is therefore out of the question.
The challenge here is twofold: first, it is the start of major maneuvers to initiate a political solution as soon as the military phase is permanently over. Now is the time to launch trial balloons, like this Arab nations’ plan which proposes the recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia, in exchange for Israel's “irreversible” commitment to a Palestinian state.
It is also a political fight. In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is gambling on his political survival, because of the upcoming investigation into the military failures on October 7 and his ongoing trials for corruption.
The dissonance within the Israeli cabinet is not a secret: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is positioning himself to be the successor of Netanyahu; while Benny Gantz, the centrist opponent who joined the war cabinet, does not hide his disagreements.
Another member of the war cabinet, former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, called for early elections last week, saying trust in the current government is no longer there.
In this context, the conflict with Biden takes on its full meaning. The American president is widely criticized in the United States, among his own electorate, for his unbending support for Israel, both on the military and political fronts. As the elections are approaching, he must be able to show that although he supported Israel's right to defend itself, he wants a fair solution for the Palestinians.
Netanyahu now clearly stands as an obstacle in Biden’s path, and appears to be playing for time while hoping for a victory of Donald Trump in November. The rebuff from the Israeli prime minister this weekend is nevertheless humiliating for the American president, and it will bear consequences.
Biden Has a Michigan Problem, Endangering His Re-Election
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/joe-biden-michigan-election-president-2f62aaed
EXCERPT: Trump captured Michigan in 2016, defeating Hillary Clinton by less than 11,000 votes to become the first Republican to win the state since 1988. Biden carried it by more than 150,000 votes in 2020. Voter turnout in Michigan increased to 70.5% in 2020—the highest since 1960.
But the pro-Biden coalition from 2020 has been strained by recent events. The president’s support for Israel following the October attacks by Hamas has drawn rebukes from the state’s Arab-American community and on college campuses, raising the possibility that a prolonged war in Gaza could depress turnout and support from some of those voters.
TITLE: Biden Could Face Protesters in Michigan Over ‘Raw’ Gaza Response, Gov. Whitmer warns
https://themessenger.com/politics/gretchen-whitmer-biden-michigan-visit-palestinian-protesters
EXCERPT: President Joe Biden could face pro-Palestinian protesters when he visits Michigan this month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned on Sunday.
The Democratic governor said on Face the Nation that there are "raw feelings" in her state about Israel's bombardment of Gaza and the 27,000 Palestinian casualties amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Michigan has roughly 300,000 Arab American residents, which makes the state particularly sensitive about the issue, she noted.
"What's happening in Israel and Gaza has certainly caused pain for everyone," said Whitmer, who is co-chair of the Biden campaign.
TITLE: These Teachers Want the Largest Union in the Country to Rescind its Biden Endorsement Over Gaza
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/nea-union-biden-endorsement-gaza/
EXCERPT: For members of the NEA who are desperate to stop the killing of civilians in Gaza, making [their] support contingent on the Biden administration’s meaningful push for a cease-fire is the best leverage they have. The goal, they say, is not to help former president Donald Trump win but the opposite. “Getting President Biden to change his position on Israel will help him to beat Trump,” reads an explanatory document, circulated with the petition. “People who vote Democratic are overwhelmingly in support of a permanent ceasefire and disapprove of Biden’s handling of the situation.” Polling shows the majority of Americans want a cease-fire, including more than 70 percent of Democrats.
The organizing effort to rescind this endorsement is just getting started, and it’s too soon to know what base of support it has. But its backers point to momentum they have already achieved: This same group of members successfully pressed 19 local, state, and regional bodies of the NEA to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, including the National Council of Urban Education Associations, a caucus comprised of 251 large NEA locals and UniServ Councils, which are associations of several locals. And the members behind these resolutions claim credit for NEA President Rebecca Pringle’s December 8, 2023, tweet in support of a cease-fire. “With the end of the temporary truce,” she wrote, “the need for a ceasefire in Gaza is growing.”
And there are at least some supporters of the presidential un-endorsement in NEA’s board of directors. Among them is Aaron Phillips, a 41-year-old fifth grade teacher and NEA board member from Amarillo, Tex. “There’s a growing group of board members that support it,” he said, referring to the effort to revoke the presidential endorsement. “If I were to make a motion, I’m confident I would have a second and would have a growing group of board members stand with me.”