US could approve Israeli sought-after Rafah offensive
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The US privately advises the Israeli occupation government on the type of campaign it could support in Rafah, amid controversy over potential aid conditioning.
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Palestinians walk by a residential building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP)
Controversy has surrounded the potential US conditioning of aid to "Israel" in the event of an Israeli operation in Rafah, however, a POLITICO report revealed, that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed such claims as "uninformed speculation."
According to the report, a number of senior US officials confirmed that US President Joe Biden supported the Israeli occupation government's decision to pursue "high-value Hamas targets in and underneath Rafah," under the condition that "Israel avoids a large-scale invasion that could fracture the alliance."
Plotting a media-friendly genocide
In that context, Politico's report stressed that the Biden administration is yet to determine the type of aggression it can endorse in Rafah, given that US officials are well aware of the Israeli occupation's claimed intention to eliminate Hamas' four battalions in the southern area bordering Egypt.
Since October 8, all Palestinian Resistance brigades and factions have been engaged in defending the Strip.
Behind closed doors, four US administration officials notified the Israeli occupation government that Washington might endorse a strategy more reminiscent of "counterterrorism" operations rather than full-scale warfare.
The administration officials, according to the report, had alleged that such an approach would "minimize" civilian casualties, weaken Hamas, and prevent the scenes that have led to "souring public opinion" toward "Israel" and the US alike. It is important to note that the scenes mentioned in the report reference the full-blown genocide conducted by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip claiming the life of over 31,000 Palestinian people; most of whom are women and children.
Ethnic cleansing by any other name
Politico also cited an Israeli official who stressed that "At the end of the day, we cannot win this war without defeating Hamas’ battalions in Rafah."
On the other, Politico also cited military intelligence briefings to senior-level White House and administration officials, which highlighted that there is doubt regarding the Israeli occupation's aim to conduct a large-scale military operation in Gaza soon.
"They’d have to do some repositioning of forces, and that has not happened," said a Defense Department official, according to the report, adding "It’s not imminent."
As for Biden's alleged "red line," Sullivan told reporters earlier on March 12 that "the president didn’t make any declarations or pronouncements or announcements," adding that "Our position is that a military operation in Rafah that does not protect civilians, that cuts off the main arteries of humanitarian assistance and that places enormous pressure on the Israel-Egypt border is not something that he can support."
However, Sullivan emphasized the allegation that Biden sought "the protection of civilians" before stressing the more significant focus of the US president which has been "about Israel being able to sustain a campaign in a way that ultimately leads to an outcome in which the people of Israel are secure, Hamas is crushed, and there is a long-term solution to stability and peace in the region."
