In messages circulated on Friday, State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.”
The revelation provides a stunning signal about the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint as the close U.S. partner expands the offensive it launched after Hamas ― which rules Gaza ― attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7.
The emails were sent hours after Israel told more than 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza that they should leave their homes and shelters ahead of an expected ground invasion of the region. On Thursday, the United Nations said Israel had given Gazans a 24-hour deadline to move to the south of the strip, adding it would be “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
Asked about Israel’s evacuation order on Friday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to reject or endorse it, calling it “a tall order.”
“We’re going to be careful not to get into armchair quarterbacking the tactics on the ground by the [Israel Defense Forces],” he added. “What I can tell you is we understand what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to move civilians out of harm’s way and giving them fair warning.”
IMO - The Biden Administration is tacitly endorsing what seems to me to be a coming genocide, and it's kind of freaking me out. I don't know if this is about domestic politics or if the Biden administration is actually low key cheering the slaughter on. Hamas is evil and should be destroyed, no argument here. But in the same way Hamas doesn't believe Israel should exist, a good chunk of Isreal, particularly their current far right government, feels the same way about Palestinians, all of them. It seems Israel is not going to let a good crisis go to waste. Israeli military leaders have been using dehumanizing language, which is a tell tale sign of a coming genocide, they have suspended rules of engagement, my non expert opinion is the current blockade of food, water, and electricity, while inhumane on its face, is also in part to limit the ability of the world to learn about the war crimes about to be committed. The 24 hour order to move out of northern Gaza is impossible, Israel knows that, the Biden administration knows that, it's clearly an effort to give Israel political cover for the mass amounts of civilians about to be slaughtered - if they stayed, they were part of or supportive of Hamas and so were legitimate targets, and even if not we gave them a warning to move and they failed to do so, so not our fault. I'd except this from a government who before all of this happened openly believed apartied was the ideal solution to the Palestinian conflict. I'm legitimately surprised the Biden administration is straight up cool with this going down, to the point that "end the violence/bloodshed" is by written policy a verboten phrase. It seems like some sick shit is about to go down, and the Biden Administrations hands are going to be dirty.
Joe Biden is worried about turning out the youth vote for he's relection. He's decided to be a passive accomplice to genocide. It's a bold strategy Cotton let's see how it plays out.
The clearest indicator should be the death and injury stats for Israel vs Palestine - this is a super one-sided, slow-burn genocide that's about to escalate dramatically.
Israel are a nuclear power with a modern military, iron dome, US support, and a clear intent to genocide the Palestinians. Palestinians are armed with rocks, small arms and shoulder-fired rockets.
Israel has maintained Palestine, one of the most densely populated areas in the world as what's widely recognised as an open air concentration camp, doing things we've seen in recent days - heavily restricting movement, cutting trade, food, water, and power, sending in troops or bombers on a whim, and using things like white phosphorus - a lot of this is a clear war crime.
Israel have been steadily taking over Palestinian homes - if Palestinians were to do the same, the consequences would start at every Palestinian in the area being executed by the IDF.
Israel has given Hamas support over the more secular, peaceful IDF because it's useful to have a monstrous opposition as a pretext to do exactly what they're about to escalate. While I strongly disagree with Hamas, I can see how Palestinians are drawn to joining them.
While Hamas is terrible, they're not the Palestinian government, and don't meaningfully represent the Palestinian people. Their attacks are predictably meet with disproportionate response and Palestinian civilian casualties every time. Palestinian and Israeli citizens are both the victims here - as much mutual hate as there may be between them. Hamas terrorism doesn't justify the kind of indiscriminate attacks we have seen on Palestinian civilians, and will see escalate further over the coming days/weeks.
I'll go looking for sources on some of this if needed and noone else beats me to it.
Thank you for explaining this.
Thanks for taking the interest and time to try to get your head around a particularly contentious, but ultimately quite straightforward issue.
I also realised I didn't do a great job of directly addressing your question about Palestine dealing with Hamas. They certainly are a Palestinian problem to solve, but between the resourcing issues, the Israelis propping up Hamas, and the understandable response to Israel's constant, very one-sided attacks, it's an impossible task, and a problem largely created by Israel... Who see to have their own final solution in mind.