Biden's 'Israel' policy 'unlikely' to change, Israeli lobby too strong

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The Biden administration's policy toward "Israel" is unlikely to change after Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Prime Minister assumes office. According to veteran international diplomats, the policies won't be changing because the Israeli lobby in the US is too strong. 

On Monday, the White House said that US President Joe Biden held a phone conversation to congratulate Netanyahu after his party's win in the elections. 

Last week, Netanyahu's Likud Party earned 32 seats in the Knesset, which hosts 120 seats. Two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties put forward 18 candidates, with 14 others from the extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism, giving Netanyahu's bloc a total of 64 seats.

Former British ambassador to Syria Peter Ford said Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken would have preferred dealing with Prime Minister Yair Lapid, but the administration will adjust.

"Netanyahu's return to power is not welcomed by the Biden administration but nothing significant is likely to change in the US-Israeli relationship," Ford said. "Will there be major change? Hardly, not while 'Israel' still has the sway it does over Congress, the bedrock of its support in the US thanks to the power of the 'Israel' Lobby." 

The diplomat explained that Netanyahu's proximity with the far-right and racism is embarrassing. 

"It is also an observable fact that support for 'Israel' is waning among the younger liberal demographic which tends to vote Democrat. We may therefore see slightly less reluctance on the part of the United States to distance itself from Israel on issues of secondary importance," Ford said. 

He also added that Biden said at one point that the US will always have "Israel's" back, which is why there will be no change in the US administration's unwillingness to place pressure on the occupation over its illegal annexation of the West Bank, not to mention "its inhumane treatment of Palestinians or its regular pummeling of Gaza."

Thomas Lippman, Middle East Institute veteran analyst, agreed with the assessment: "I don't see any reason for anything to change dramatically, at least in the short run," he said.