According to an internal report of Israel’s foreign ministry, the Biden administration is preparing to impose sanctions on IDF officers and soldiers who serve in Judea and Samaria, Kan11 News reported Friday night. The report cites a series of claims that have been submitted to the administration against the conduct of IDF units in the area.
The report cites a US warning that if the military attorney’s office does not submit answers to the administration’s inquiries in less than 60 days, sanctions would be imposed against IDF soldiers, including commanders. In addition, the report shows that the Biden administration warned Israel many times about the lack of enforcement against “settler violence,” and Israel’s answers have been unsatisfactory.
According to Kan11, Netanyahu’s cabinet is planning a session with the military attorney next week to discuss ways to prevent the Americans from also imposing sanctions on heads of municipalities in Judea and Samaria, as well as MKs and government ministers.
With every passing day, it is becoming clear that the Biden administration has marked the Israeli right for demolition, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and every right-wing minister and MKs in between.
Last Thursday, in one of his most stressful public appearances, President Joe Biden revealed his disdain for Israel and its efforts to secure its future during the war in Gaza. Engulfed in a cloud of lion-in-Winter rage, Biden attacked his favorite pin cushion – PM Netanyahu and his stupid war in Gaza (Mired in Terrifying Haze of Dementia, Biden Declares Israel’s Response in Gaza Is ‘Over the Top’).
“I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top,” Biden said in response to a question from the press. “I’ve been pushing really hard, really hard, to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. There are a lot of innocent people who are starving. There are a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying. And it’s got to stop.”
THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN TRAVELS TO DEARBORN
Meanwhile, the NY Times on Friday reported that Jon Finer, a deputy national security adviser for the Biden administration, told Arab American leaders in Dearborn, Michigan this week that the administration regrets some of its “missteps” in the Gaza war, stating, “We are very well aware that we have missteps in the course of responding to this crisis since Oct. 7.”
Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer acknowledges Biden administration’s “missteps” on Gaza in a closed-door meeting with American-Arab leaders.
Finer stated he did not have “any confidence” that Israel’s government was willing to take “meaningful steps” toward… pic.twitter.com/Banyxa0ysp
— AF Post (@AFpost) February 10, 2024
Former Obama UN envoy Samantha Power, now the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, was also on hand. Power was behind the final slap in the face of PM Netanyahu on the last anti-Israel vote of the UN Security Council in 2016 when she abstained.
Finer told his Arab-American listeners: “We have left a very damaging impression based on what has been a wholly inadequate public accounting for how much the president, the administration and the country values the lives of Palestinians. And that began, frankly, pretty early in the conflict.”
Finer, who is Jewish, served during the Obama administration as the chief of staff and director of policy planning for former Secretary of State John Kerry. He was sent to Dearborn to put out a fire – namely the growing rancor in the Democratic party among Arab Americans, younger African Americans, and college students.
On January 23, at a rally in support of abortion rights, President Biden was heckled repeatedly by protesters critical of his policy in Gaza. They waved Palestinian flags, shouted “Genocide Joe,” and demanded a ceasefire in Gaza. The heckling was reportedly organized by Code Pink: Women for Peace, and even though they were able to marshal only about 10 protesters, they had a great impact.
According to the NY Times, citing three sources who were present, following the rally, Biden convened in private with approximately 40 specially-invited guests, encouraging them not to perceive demonstrators as adversaries in the political arena. He emphasized the importance of understanding and sympathizing with their cause.
According to recent polls, Biden’s support in Michigan has diminished. Allies in the northern Midwest have cautioned the White House in recent months about the possibility of him losing the state, which he won in the 2020 election.
Biden’s senior adviser and campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez was also part of the administration’s drive to win back Michigan Arabs. She met behind the scenes with Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a veteran of anti-Israel Congressional votes.
In Thursday’s meetings, Finer outlined the US government’s efforts to end the conflict in Gaza. He emphasized that establishing a formal diplomatic relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia is a crucial measure toward fostering a Palestinian state. At the same time, he declared he did not have “any confidence” that Israel would take “meaningful steps” toward Palestinian statehood.
