Biden administration dramatically softens the sanctions it imposed on the seven Israelis from the Israel Defense Forces and makes it clear that they will be able to use their bank accounts.
Biden administration dramatically softens the sanctions it imposed on the seven Israelis from the Israel Defense Forces and makes it clear that they will be able to use their bank accounts.
If I’m reading this correctly, this decision was made because Smotrich threatened to sever all Israeli banking relations with the Palestinian Authority, which since the PA depends on Israeli banks to function, would have ruined the Palestinian government in the West Bank. I don’t like that this is how it’s going down, but definitely see the rationale, and don’t think the Biden Admin is wrong to protect the PA. There’s plenty criticism to heap on the US for their relationship with Israel, but I don’t think this is one of them. The problem here is Smotrich and the Netanyahu government.
The PA is pretty much entirely controlled by the Israeli military now. It being shut down might actually allow orgs that actually serve Palestinian interests to take power.
Regardless, this is obviously just an excuse to stop the sanctions. Israel is entirely dependent on the US and these “threats” are toothless. If Biden gave a fuck at all, he would simply threaten to cut off funding to Israel in return.
The “might” in that sentence is doing some heavy lifting. I think the collapse of the PA would lead to worsening chaos in the West Bank, especially financially, and would directly harm Palestinians.
Not at all. You can remove that first paragraph entirely and my point comes across just fine.
There wasn’t a second paragraph when I responded lol.
I still seriously disagree with you, a disruption of the Palestinian Authority would 100% be worse for the Palestinian people in the West Bank. Which “orgs” do you think are suddenly going to step in and be better?
Israel has a robust economy and is quite capable of conducting the war it wants all on its own.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Israel
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Not in the west bank
You got downvoted, but you are correct.
This is just a little something to keep in mind the next time some Israeli tries to argue that “it’s not an occupation.”
So they threatened to hurt themselves more to get him to back down? PA is the only thing keeping the West Bank militants at bay. That’s absolutely pathetic on Biden’s part.
I think you misunderstand, Netanyahu and his allies want extremists in charge. They have spent the last two decades trying to delegitimize the PA because they are a moderate Palestinian government, and the same two decades propping up Hamas. When extremists are in charge, Netanyahu knows he can more easily justify killing Palestinians and taking Palestinian land
The more secular resistance started to breakdown in the 90s, which led to Israel’s strategy to support the election of a more fundamentalist authority for the Gaza Strip. The authority they assisted into power was Hamas. At the same time, they propped up the PA in the West Bank. The goal was to divide and conquer: Diminish the united Palestinian identity, and convince non-militants to stand on the sidelines while the militants went to fight and die in the Gaza Strip. Once the Strip is dealt with, they will only have to deal with the non-militants in the West Bank, which in this time has grown reliant on Israel’s part of their relationship. Due to playing a part in this, many claim that the PA leaders are corrupt and have sold out Palestine.
Now, while they are struggling and overstretched in the Gaza Strip, why would Israel want to get rid of the self-destructively pacifist symbolic leaders of the West Bank? That’s my thoughts on it.
Can they just send a few killer drones after the two guys mentioned? It’s fair game, USA uses those outside of its territory, Israel uses those outside of its territory.
Of course there’s going a shitfest of indignation from Israelis, but that’ll be in any situation which is not successful ethnic cleansing with no consequences.
More concisely, the problem is Israel.