Benjamin Netanyahu has said he has given orders to the Israeli army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip in a move that threatens to torpedo an already fragile ceasefire and create catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the already devastated territory.
In recent days, Israeli-backed armed militias have taken a leading role in emptying the territory along the ceasefire line, telling residents to vacate their homes or shelters.
Throughout the eight months of the ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued to open fire on Palestinians within range of the “yellow line” splitting the strip, and carry out airstrikes deeper inside western Gaza, killing more than 900 Palestinians since the truce began.
I’m unclear what this means.
Do you think Biden and Trump are different with regard to Palestine?
I’m not one of those people who equivocates between Democrats and Republicans, but on this issue I’m genuinely unclear what someone would point to as a difference in policy between Biden and Trump.
Although it appeared to have minimal effect, Biden actually told Isreal to back down. His administration gave warnings about Isreal needing to select targets with more care about civilians collateral. They crossed his ‘red line’ and nothing much happened, but there was at least some pushback. Once Trump was elected, things got dramatically worse. Trump encouraged Isreal to ‘wipe out Gaza’. Remember the videos of Trump Casinos there? It was when Trump took power that Isreal went from picking military related targets without regard for civilian casualties, to actually targeting civilians en mass. And Isreal ramped up its blockade of humanitarian supplies. I agree that Biden wasn’t doing enough to push back. But this isn’t a case of them both being the same just because they both support Isreal too much.