US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East has signaled disaster for regional security and affirmed that Washington is seeking to escalate tensions, rather than favor dialogue and compromise.
Upon landing in Ben Gurion airport last Wednesday, the US head of State opened his address to the Israelis by not addressing any of the key issues facing the region. Joe Biden decided to completely ignore the issue of Israel’s army murdering his fellow US citizen, Shireen Abu Akleh, instead stating that “you need not be a Jew to be a Zionist”, going on to say that the United States would continue its unconditional support for Israel.
Joe Biden’s statements from his trip to meet Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv have made clear that no justice will come for the murder of US citizen Shireen Abu Akleh and that there will be no significant push for a “two-State solution” dialogue. The priorities of the Biden administration are clear, they do not care for the Palestinians or a peace deal, they understand well that there is no desire for the so-called “two-State solution” and only view the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank as a means to achieving Israeli security. PA President Mahmoud Abbas is viewed as the collaborator he is, as an unelected mini-dictator that will get Israel’s dirty work done in the West Bank and won’t dare step outside the framework set up that provides his organization with the ability to secure Western funding for their repressive security forces.
The PA, which has officially absorbed the former Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), has destroyed all the credibility and symbolic political power of the Palestinian movement of the past. The Fatah party, which runs the PA, is a joke, not only to the wider world but also to most of its members. The reason Biden is capable of stating that Washington is chasing after Arab normalization with Israel, is because of the weakness of the hijacked Palestinian movement. The hijackers, the “Ramallah elite” of Palestinian bourgeoisie, kiss the feet of the West to maintain their finances. There is, however, a counterweight to the reactionary forces of the PA; this is the unified grouping of resistance forces that are headquartered inside the Gaza Strip.
During the recent visit with the Israeli Government, the Biden administration indicated that Washington is dedicated to combating the unified resistance forces, which are headed by the political-military party known as Hamas. This clearly demonstrates that on this front, the US is not pressuring Israel to compromise or engage in peace talks with the real leaders of the Palestinian movement, but are chasing a policy of confrontation.
Joe Biden and Israeli interim Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, have also made it clear, through the signing of the “Jerusalem Declaration”, that military confrontation with Iran is their preferred course of action in the event that no Iran Nuclear Deal can be reached. Not only this, but through attempts to form a joint air defense alliance between Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, Manama, and other Gulf regimes, it is clear that the US strategy is preparing for more confrontation.
On Wednesday, during Joe Biden’s visit to Tel Aviv, another major development occurred, that was the latest speech given by the Secretary General of Lebanese Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah addressed the US negotiator, Amos Hochstein’s, mocking of the Lebanese people’s aspirations for control over their own resources and made himself very clear that his party is ready to go to war over this issue. In Lebanon, the political and economic crisis is crushing the Lebanese population. As many as 78% of the people of Lebanon are living below the poverty line. At this time, Nasrallah stressed that being in a position where there is little to lose, he made the case for war. His argument explained that it’s better to fight and flip the equation on the world, rather than sit back and slowly starve.
Three drones were sent earlier this month by Lebanese Hezbollah, on reconnaissance, with the dual purpose of being shot down by Israel. Hassan Nasrallah stated that his forces wished to create confusion and send a message to the Israelis, in addition to those working at the oil facilities at the Karish field. In the past, the Hezbollah leader said that the group could act at anytime to stop Israel from extracting gas from the Karish field, this Wednesday he stated that there is a new equation; either Lebanon is allowed its rights to its territories and to extract its own resources, or nobody will have that right. Nasrallah said clearly that the oil and gas facilities will be targeted beyond Karish field — meaning all of Israel’s facilities. He added that the Lebanese people will not be laughed at and vowed that if the issue is not solved by September — the time when Israel is expected to extract gas from Karish field — there will be action taken and that Hezbollah does not fear war.
If Israel and the United States do not understand that dialogue and granting of concessions is the only way to ensure security in the region (assuming that’s even what they desire) then we will see the situation deteriorate over the coming months. The US Biden administration is also considering selling offensive weapons once again to Saudi Arabia, as if all of the above information was not cause for enough concern.
So far Joe Biden’s trip has made the following clear; Washington is not holding to its promise to end the war in Yemen and may exacerbate the situation; it is ignoring the Palestinian issue; it is adopting an aggressive stance towards Iran and is not willing to take the Lebanese predicament seriously. The reaction to this could be; more conflict with Tehran; an Israel-Lebanon war; an escalation in Yemen resulting in Ansrallah’s destruction of Saudi oil facilities; and a strengthening of calls to resistance in the Palestinian occupied territories.
