Israelis faced no serious pressure from US to stop war: US officials

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Apr 2025 00:02
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Former Biden officials admitted that Netanyahu rejected a ceasefire, prolonged the Gaza war for political reasons, sabotaged a Saudi normalization deal, and faced no serious pressure from Washington to stop the assault.

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Former US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, right, speaks with US Envoy for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein, left, after their meeting with the Lebanese President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Senior officials from the former Biden administration have acknowledged in a revealing interview aired Sunday by "Israel's" Channel 13 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively derailed efforts to reach a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia and prolonged the Gaza war for political survival, all while rejecting any serious move toward a ceasefire.

The officials revealed that in 2023, "Israel" was presented with an opportunity to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. The proposed deal, brokered by Washington and Riyadh, would have required a ceasefire, the release of captives, and a political commitment toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu rejected these conditions outright. Following the October 7 events, he entrenched his refusal, dismissing any discussion of Palestinian rights as "a prize for terrorism."

Biden aides noted that advancing Palestinian self-determination was not framed as an Israeli concession but as a necessary step to weaken Hamas and empower a reformed Palestinian Authority; "Israel" still refused.

"I don't understand the decision not to grab that opportunity as the most important strategic move Israel can make," former senior US envoy Amos Hochstein said. "I think it was missed before. I hope Israel doesn't miss that opportunity moving forward, even if it means doing things that politically are uncomfortable."

Throughout the course of the war, "Israel" consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, not once requesting one itself, even as the Palestinian death toll rose into the tens of thousands. Despite widespread destruction in Gaza, Netanyahu's government pursued a military strategy without any political plan for what would follow, a choice Biden officials now admit was deliberate.

Former US national security advisor Jake Sullivan expressed frustration at Netanyahu's attacks on the US, saying, "Having the prime minister of Israel question the support of the United States after all that we did, do I think that was a right and proper thing for a friend to do? I do not. [However], I will always stand firm behind the idea that Israel has a right to defend itself and that the United States has a responsibility to help Israel."

In internal discussions, Washington briefly considered more forceful measures, including a speech from Biden to pressure Netanyahu or even encourage Israeli elections. But the US ultimately chose not to directly confront Netanyahu's extremist coalition, enabling continued escalation in Gaza without a coherent exit strategy.

Officials further revealed that Netanyahu sabotaged diplomatic efforts by falsely accusing the US of a broad weapons freeze, leading to the collapse of negotiations to release a shipment of 2,000-lb bombs, despite the fact that Washington had already pushed through $19 billion in new security assistance to "Israel."

Behind the scenes, Biden aides said they struggled to secure basic humanitarian aid entry into Gaza, facing Israeli obstruction and attacks on aid convoys by far-right settlers, actions enabled by ministers inside Netanyahu's own government. Although the US signed memoranda requiring the State Department to monitor whether Israeli behavior violated US arms laws, whistleblowers like Stacy Gilbert resigned after accusing the Biden administration of manipulating findings to continue arms shipments to "Israel."

Despite recognizing these realities, Biden officials continued unconditional political and military support for "Israel" throughout the war. While they claim to have privately voiced concerns, there was no serious pressure on "Israel" to halt its attack or pursue a ceasefire.

Discussions with Saudi Arabia over normalization continued during the war, but ultimately faltered because "Israel's" leadership refused to accept any framework that would guarantee Palestinian rights. "The fact that there wasn't a way in the Israeli political system for anyone to navigate a space to allow for that is kind of shocking," former US ambassador Jack Lew said.

Even in ceasefire talks, Biden officials acknowledged that Netanyahu's internal political considerations often obstructed possible deals. US negotiators admitted that Netanyahu added new conditions at critical moments, disrupting progress aimed at securing the release of captives.

While some former Biden officials sought to portray President Biden's loyalty to "Israel" as an act of courage, the interviews paint a different reality: Biden's refusal to apply meaningful pressure allowed Netanyahu's government to escalate the devastation in Gaza without restraint.

Former Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog summed up this perspective when he said, “God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period, because it could have been much worse. We fought [in Gaza] for over a year, and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.' It never did. And that's not to be taken for granted.”

The reality, confirmed even by officials closest to Washington and Tel Aviv, is that "Israel's" attack on Gaza was never accompanied by any serious plan for peace, only the relentless continuation of genocide, enabled and shielded by unconditional US support.