Can the US stop Netanyahu from acting like an insolent brat?
It is clear why Netanyahu would want to prolong a ruthless war in order to maintain power and avoid accountability. It's however unclear why Joe Biden has jeopardised his own political future by unconditionally supporting Netanyahu for so long
On Monday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians in Rafah to evacuate ahead of airstrikes, raising concerns that Israel was launching a ground invasion of Gaza's southernmost city, where 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge.
Hours later, Hamas announced that it had agreed to a cease-fire proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the agreement and reiterated his plan to invade Rafah and achieve "total victory" against Hamas.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden warned he would stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if it launches a major invasion of Rafah. The next day, Netanyahu retorted, "If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails."
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These exchanges make one thing clear: Netanyahu does not want the war to end, and he is doing everything he can to undermine negotiations for a ceasefire and an agreement to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas since its 7 October attack on Israel.
And whatever the US is doing now is most likely too little, too late.
Netanyahu and his allies are concerned that once the war ends, they will face early parliamentary elections and multiple investigations into the government's intelligence failures that led to the Hamas attacks.
Netanyahu and his Likud party are likely to lose any upcoming elections, and once out of power, Netanyahu will face a long-awaited corruption trial on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust for acts allegedly committed during previous stints as prime minister.
Netanyahu is a political survivor who has prioritised his personal interests over everything else. He is Israel's longest-serving premier, having served for more than 16 years, including multiple terms, beginning in 1996.
It is clear why Netanyahu would want to prolong a ruthless war in order to maintain power and avoid accountability. It's however unclear why Joe Biden has jeopardised his own political future by unconditionally supporting Netanyahu for so long.
A license to kill
Following the events of 7 October, the US president declared his unwavering support for Israel and embraced Netanyahu in a bear hug during a visit to Tel Aviv.
Since then, the prime minister has repeatedly embarrassed and broken promises to Israel's most important ally without repercussions.
For months, Biden and his top aides complained about Netanyahu and the exorbitant number of Palestinian casualties, but they continued to provide diplomatic cover and US weapons, allowing Israel to maintain its war machine.
Now, Netanyahu appears prepared to defy all of Biden's alleged red lines, including launching a major ground invasion of Rafah, despite months of warnings from the US and sabotaging a ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu and his allies are attempting to sell the Israeli public - and the rest of the world - on the myth that if the Israeli military destroys four Hamas battalions believed to be holed up in Rafah, they will have won a complete victory in Gaza.
"We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there - whether or not there is a deal - in order to achieve total victory," Netanyahu stated last week.
However, Biden does not have to support Netanyahu's reckless and inhumane policy, which ignores the fate of 1.4 million Palestinians driven out of their homes in other parts of Gaza by Israeli forces using US-supplied weapons.
Washington has supplied tens of thousands of bombs and other munitions, allowing Israel to carry out one of the most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history, killing over 34,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children, and causing famine in northern Gaza.
Too little, too late
After seven months of supporting such wanton death and destruction, Biden is finally demonstrating a willingness to use the most powerful leverage he has over Israel: the president can halt US weapons shipments and force Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire.
Last week, Biden finally delayed a weapons shipment to Israel, withholding several thousand bombs that the US administration fears will be dropped on Rafah by Israeli forces during a large-scale invasion.
It's a small step towards restraining Netanyahu, but the administration recently approved additional arms shipments to Israel worth $827 million.
On Wednesday, Biden stated that he would also prevent the delivery of artillery shells and other weapons capable of bombing Rafah's densely populated areas.
It was the first time Biden had blocked some arms shipments to Israel, though he made it clear that he would not limit shipments of the Iron Dome missile defence system and other weapons that ensure Israel's ability to "respond to attacks."
Despite Netanyahu's defying and humiliating him at every turn, Biden has resisted changing US policy since October, even as he continues to lose support among Black and Arab American voters, as well as young progressives who are outraged by his support for Israel's slaughter.
As recently as last March US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken condemned the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a formal investigation into war crimes committed by both Israel's military and Palestinian militants.
Instead of taking real action, which could have significantly reduced Palestinian suffering and starvation in recent months, the Biden administration chose to leak a series of stories implying that its patience was running out and that Biden was on the verge of a "breach" with Netanyahu over Gaza.
Anonymous Biden aides told NBC News that the president referred to Netanyahu as an "a**hole" at least three times.
While Biden was busy telling the world how frustrated he was with Netanyahu, the prime minister used these empty threats to strengthen his position and argue that he is the only Israeli leader capable of standing up to the United States.
More bear huggers lay in waiting
Meanwhile, Republicans, led by former president Donald Trump, wasted little time in turning President Joe Biden's promise to withhold weapons from Israel in the event that it launches an attack on Rafah into a campaign issue.
Trump attacked Biden and Hamas in a Truth Social post, claiming that the president was "taking the side of these terrorists, just like he has sided with the Radical Mobs taking over our college campuses."
Republicans swiftly charged that Biden was attempting to appease left-wing activists and college protestors who support the Palestinian cause, following his remarks on Wednesday night.
Donald Trump has always attempted to project an image as the most pro-Israel US president in history. He once stated, "The Jewish State has never had a better friend in the White House than your president."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees, stating that Trump is "the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House."
During his term, Trump formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocated the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He was also instrumental in the signing of the Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain.
Another chance to change course
This week, Biden and his top aides have another chance to change course and end the United States' involvement in Israel's conflict.
In February, Biden issued a national security memo requiring the administration to certify to Congress that recipients of US weapons are abiding by international law and allowing the transport of humanitarian aid during active conflicts. The administration can suspend or cancel arms shipments to countries that do not meet the requirements outlined in its memo, which reinforces existing US laws.
In late March, the State Department confirmed that Israel had provided written assurances that it would not use US weapons to violate international law.
Following those statements from Israeli officials, the Biden administration stated that Israel had not violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from reaching starving Palestinians, despite the fact that the world could see Israel blocking aid shipments from entering Gaza in real time.
However, the administration is required to submit an annual report to Congress, which is due this week, explaining whether Israel's statements are credible and how US officials evaluated these claims.
Last month, Reuters reported that several senior officials told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an internal memo that Israel's assurances are "neither credible nor reliable".
Officials from four different state department bureaus expressed concerns about potential Israeli violations of international law during the Gaza conflict.
The decision by US officials to leak this classified document demonstrates the level of concern about American complicity in potential Israeli war crimes, as well as a lack of faith in Biden and his top aides to halt weapons shipments to Israel even when evidence suggests that they are violating international and US laws.
An unfazed Netanyahu
For months, human rights and humanitarian organisations have documented Israel's use of starvation as a weapon of war, a violation of international law, and its obstruction of the delivery of food and other aid to Gaza.
In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to prevent its troops from committing genocide, to provide basic services, and to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
However, Israel has continued to defy the court's rulings, most recently on 5 May, when it closed a key aid crossing point into Gaza following a Hamas rocket attack.
Washington provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid each year, and Israel is the world's largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid, having received approximately $300 billion since 1948.
Congress approved $26 billion in additional support for Israel last month, including $14 billion in unconditional military aid and some humanitarian assistance for Gazan civilians.
Netanyahu remains as defiant as ever. On Thursday, in a supposed response to US President Joe Biden's warnings, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israelis are prepared to fight with their "fingernails".
The Netanyahu government had remained silent on reports that Washington was withholding a shipment of aerial bombs until Wednesday, when Biden confirmed the measure, saying it was part of a US warning to Israelis not to "go into Rafah".
"If we must stand alone, we shall stand alone," Netanyahu said, without mentioning the US announcement. "If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails," he said in a video statement.
"But we have much more than our fingernails, and with that strength of spirit, with God's help, together we shall be victorious."
