Netenyahu determined to keep war on Gaza going knowing Israelis want him out once war ends

While claiming to support Israel's "right to defend itself" the Biden administration's political protection and arming of Israel during its cruel and devastating war on Gaza is, in reality, backing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's desperate drive to remain in office.

Last week, Netanyahu's corruption trial resumed after a 60-day pause due to the Gaza war. He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and, if convicted, could serve years injail or pay a fine. The trial opened in May 2020 and was initially postponed because of COVID. The bribery case holds that Netanyahu and his wife Sara traded favours for expensive gifts of champaign, cigars, and jewellery from an Israeli movie mogul and Australian billionaire businessman. The second case alleges Netanyahu asked Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth for favourable coverage in exchange for the adoption of legislation to curb the circulation of a rival newspaper. The third indictment is for Netanyahu’s offer to adopt regulations favourable to Israel's telecommunications firm, Bezeq, in return for more positive coverage on its website. He can be removed from office, if convicted.

With this threat hanging over his head, Netanyahu launched a campaign in January this year to overhaul the country's supreme court, reducing its powers and granting governments the authority to appoint judges. His aim was to deprive the judiciary of the power to remove senior elected officials. His effort has been met with massive popular demonstrations across Israel. Opponents argue he seeks to undermine Israeli democracy by removing the checks-and-balances the court provides on politicians.  Since Israel has a parliamentary form of government and the president is a figurehead,  there is no three-branch system of checks-and-balances as there is in the presidential form where the executive, legislative and judicial branches are meant to perform this function.

While Netanyahu suspended his reforms in March due to the popular movement against them, he revived his efforts in July. His narrow focus on his fate appears to have led to his failure to take seriously intelligence that revealed that Hamas intended to launch across-border raid into Israel. This took place on October 7 and allegedly killed 1,200, one-third of whom were military, intelligence and police personnel. As head of government, he has been blamed for the lapse but has accused Israel's allegedly effective intelligence services and the military for failing to identify and deal with the Hamas threat.

Faced with the trial, popular anger over his judicial reforms, and the Hamas attack, Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to wage all-out war against Hamas and the hapless civilian population of Gaza. He permitted a weeklong pause to provide for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million Gazans trapped in the narrow strip before resuming with even greater force the bombardment and invasion of Gaza.

This has largely united Israelis behind the army although the majority is still wary of Netanyahu, his motivations and leadership. Since many if not most Israelis want him to resign once the war ends, he is determined to keep the war going and refuses to agree to a ceasefire until Hamas is defeated and eradicated. This is unlikely to happen any time soon.

The Biden administration, particularly President Joe Biden, should have taken Netanyahu's perils into account when extending him full political backing and a constant supply of arms. The administration's unwavering support for Netanyahu is particularly scandalous because the Israeli military has refused to heed US warnings against the destruction of Gaza and mass murder of Gazan civilians. Nevertheless, the Biden administration has repeatedly vetoed UN Security Council demands for an immediate ceasefire. Adding injury to the injury, the administration used an emergency provision to bypass Congress, which authorises expenditures, to deliver to Israel 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million.

By abetting, aiding and prolonging the war, the Biden administration has become complicit in Israel's multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity. Following the third US veto, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused the US of adopting an "aggressive and immoral stance which is a blatant violation of all human values and principles”. He argued the US is “accountable for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and the elderly”.

The Intercept reported as early as October 19th that Lawyers at the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) had warned President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin that the administration could be found complicit in Israel's bombing campaign and denial of electricity, water, food and medical supplies to Gaza. CCR senior lawyer Katherine Gallagher told The Intercept, “US. officials can be held responsible for their failure to prevent Israel’s unfolding genocide, as well as for their complicity, by encouraging it and materially supporting it.” She said the CCR made serious accusations in the 44-page document they presented to the administration, "but they are not unfounded. There is a credible basis for these claims”.

In the nearly two months since the CCR issued its warning, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has become catastrophic. This is why UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres challenged the US to make a major shift in policy by calling an emergency meeting of the Security Council a week ago and demanding the adoption of a resolution for an immediate ceasefire. The US did not budge, and the war goes on despite calls by the full range of UN and international humanitarian organisations for an end to the war.

Chief of UN humanitarian operations Martin Griffiths argued that it is no longer possible for relief organisations to work in Gaza. After a visit to Gaza, World Food Programme deputy director Carl Skau said in some areas 90 per cent of the people cannot eat every day while overall "half the population is starving". London-based Save the Children said, "Deliberately depriving the civilian population of food, water and fuel and wilfully impeding relief supplies is using starvation as a method of warfare, which inevitably has a deadly impact on children.” The Washington Post quoted a Gaza resident who watched the looting of an UNRWA warehouse. “There are people who have become bandits, blocking the routes of trucks with weapons and begging for aid," he stated. "Famine in Gaza, is a matter of time.”