President Biden isn't Sleeping on This

 

A lot of folks won’t read past the first couple paragraphs of Biden’s op-ed today - but don’t sleep on it.

In addition to calling out Hamas, it is a direct refutation of Netanyahu’s policies - almost unheard of from an American President.

free/🎁 link:https://t.co/vov74JkGI1 pic.twitter.com/DVhPuKNjlv

— ClearingTheFog (@clearing_fog) November 19, 2023

I had something utterly different in the pipeline for this evening's post, but it's late, and I will get to it tomorrow, and I did a deep dive into Christian Nationalism and eschatology (wish I didn't!) and did you know I'm already writing one poem a day as a November challenge to myself? But I digress--this is important.

And also, when I've been hearing the Palestinian rights protesters call my president "Genocide Joe" and going after liberal politicians for their support of Israel, I've been incensed: You don't know what is happening behind the scenes, what Biden is working towards, or how maintaining aid is a kind of leverage to accomplish that. Those things aren't going to take place wholly transparently, because that isn't how such negotiations do. Biden isn't in charge of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is. There is an assumption that withdrawal of support necessarily makes Israel "make nice" as it were--and then nothing else fucking horrible happens. 

This isn't the assumption I would roll with. 

What the present situation between Israel and Palestine looks like is a chronic condition threatening to become a terminal one.  The best solution is one where there is no "condition"--two states, not intertwined in an ever-bleeding knife-fight, each tied by the wrist to the other. He wants:

To start, Gaza must never again be used as a platform for terrorism. There must be no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no reduction in territory. And after this war is over, the voices of Palestinian people and their aspirations must be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza.

As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution. I have been emphatic with Israel’s leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable. The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank.

The international community must commit resources to support the people of Gaza in the immediate aftermath of this crisis, including interim security measures, and establish a reconstruction mechanism to sustainably meet Gaza’s long-term needs. And it is imperative that no terrorist threats ever again emanate from Gaza or the West Bank.

This sounds to me like the beginning of a free and acknowledged Palestinian homeland.  I want that to be the case, because nothing Hamas is doing leads to freedom, and Israel cannot be responsible for the freedom of Palestinians after all this history. I just can't see it. 

This is all, the White House reiterates, really still being negotiated. The transfer of hostages seems like a slow process to desperate families, I am sure, but the cessation of Israel's destruction against Gazans who have lost whole families altogether is welcome. And I can;t help but fear one side or the other will reneg. 

But someone has to literally do the work. It never is a simple as just wafting in and making demands: this is work. And IDGAF who wants to not hear it: Biden is old and all that--but he is here to do that work. And I know a lot of candidates who could not or would not.

Also, I don't want us to lose the thread on Ukraine--they are punching still and all above their weight, but they need us in their corner. And I want the US to be there, for their sakes, and for Europe, and for the global balance. It really comes down to knowing where to put your most to get your best outcomes. And I want to believe the US is capable of doing just that.