WSJ: Israel Endangering Soldiers To Satisfy President Biden’s Demands

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A Wall Street Journal editorial claims that Israel is intentionally endangering its soldiers more than previously in order to placate President Biden.

Recently Biden has severely criticized the Israeli government, going as far as stating that the government “must change”. The WSJ says that Biden should be looking instead for change among the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, 82% of whom believe Hamas’s murderous attack on Oct. 7th was legitimate, according to local pollsters.

Hamas is now hugely popular in these regions, and the goal of eradicating Hamas must include the eradication of the national dreams of Hamas supporters, who wish to rule “from the river to the sea” and do not believe in any two-state framework in Israel.

The WSJ editorial says that Biden is still standing up for Israel in the UN and still condemning Hamas’s actions, but has not given Israel the proper leeway to defeat them totally.

The editorial adds that “Israelis know Mr. Biden is under pressure from the Democratic Party left to stop Israel’s Gaza operation, and they are making sacrifices to satisfy him. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that the Israeli campaign “we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south,” and Israel has complied. It is now telegraphing its attacks to the enemy so civilians can flee, and it is using a smaller force with less reliance on air power and artillery.

“As a result, Israel is taking more casualties. Ten soldiers were killed Tuesday. That follows five Monday and seven Sunday for a total of 445, including Oct. 7.

“The rising fatality rate is noticed in Israel, if nowhere else. In a video making the rounds, an infantry officer protests in Hebrew: “How can it be that an area isn’t cleared from the air before allowing our soldiers to enter?” Israel did that earlier in the war, he says, but now “our fire power is being restrained because our leaders may have started prioritizing the enemy’s lives over the lives of our soldiers.” A petition by soldiers’ mothers makes a similar point.

The editorial says that “despite Israel’s efforts, it gets little credit for its sacrifices. President Biden even criticized it Tuesday for ‘indiscriminate bombing,’ a slander so belied by the evidence that the White House tried to walk it back. Civilian casualties in Gaza are tragic, but they are mainly a result of Hamas’s way of embedding in what should be safe civilian spaces. The U.S. military also couldn’t avoid civilian casualties against ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, or other post-9/11 engagements. The U.S. doesn’t bomb indiscriminately either.

“Facilitating the transfer of fuel and aid to Gaza also hasn’t stopped U.S. criticism. On Oct. 18 Mr. Biden said, ‘If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people, and it will end.’ Really? Hamas theft, some of it caught on video, is so blatant and pervasive that Gazans denounce it publicly. Still, Israel keeps aid flowing, and the U.S. has pressured it to open another crossing to let in even more.

The editorial concludes that “Israel has no good choices here, but America does. The President can focus on supporting a U.S. ally in vanquishing a genocidal enemy.”