© Youssef Massoud/Getty Images/KJNIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu • US President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden is under pressure from the Democratic Party's progressive wing to more forcefully condemn Israel's actions in Gaza, but will not do so unless he wins a second term in office, a National Security Council official has told Project Veritas.
Biden's position on Israel is the result of careful "political calculations," National Security Council policy adviser Sterlin Waters told an undercover reporter for Project Veritas, a conservative outlet known for its hidden-camera sting operations.
On one hand, Biden and his top aides need to tell Israel that "you're not going to continue to lie, and bomb, and kill all these kids without facing serious consequences" to placate progressive voters, Waters explained in a video published by the outlet on Tuesday. However, If Biden did this, Waters continued, he would anger the "huge, powerful Jewish influence in Republican and Democrat politics" and face a smear campaign that would cost him this November's presidential election.
"If Biden won again he could be much more forthright about saying 'No'," Waters stated. "[But] that is a second-term decision."
At present, Biden's stance on Israel seemingly changes day to day, with the US president telling a crowd of college students on Sunday that he supports "an immediate ceasefire to stop the fighting" in Gaza, and telling reporters on Monday that "we stand with Israel to take out [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and the rest of the butchers of Hamas."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains that Israel can only destroy Hamas by invading Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering.
Earlier this month, Biden threatened to halt the supply of weapons to Israel if Netanyahu were to order a ground invasion of Rafah, a decision that Waters said was "a political risk."
However, while the White House froze a shipment of bombs to Israel in late April, Biden approved a different, billion-dollar arms sale - including tank ammunition and mortar rounds - to the Jewish state days after pledging to withhold future deliveries.
Comment: Proof
Israel has pounded Rafah with airstrikes for the last two weeks, in addition to launching limited ground operations in the eastern neighborhoods of the city. Netanyahu has dismissed Biden's threat to cut off military aid, proclaiming that Israel "will fight with our fingernails" if necessary.
Comment: Oh, the drama . . . .
Despite Netanyahu's bluster, the prime minister's war cabinet has shelved plans for a major offensive in Rafah and opted for a more limited approach that will minimize civilian casualties, the Washington Post reported on Monday. Israeli sources who spoke to the Post said that this approach was chosen in order to avoid angering the US.
One day before Waters' interview was published, a US State Department official told Politico that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had ordered staffers to stop leaking details to media of confidential discussions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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