In a meeting with reporters on Monday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to send a high-level delegation to Washington in the coming days to deliberate on a different plan of action than an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah.
REASON FOR THE DISCUSSION
This seems that both Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu are attempting to steer clear of a public spat on the Israeli invasion of Rafah, the haven for nearly a million Palestinian refugees.
Recently, Benjamin Netanyahu stated for the third time that he had given his approval to the operation aimed at destroying the last few Hamas battalions in Rafah.
Netanyahu has made it clear that anyone who opposes an Israeli operation in Rafah opposes the elimination of Hamas and doesn’t want Israel to win the war, including in interviews with American television networks.
President Biden dismisses that argument as “nonsense,” according to Sullivan, who stated on Monday: “A significant ground operation in Rafah will be a mistake.” There will be more civilian casualties, and Israel will lose more credibility abroad. There are alternative ways to accomplish Israel’s main objectives.”
Sullivan said Israel hasn’t presented the U.S. with a plan as to where the civilians sheltering in Rafah are supposed to go, or who will feed and house them. Additionally, he said an invasion will make it harder to get aid into Gaza via Egypt. The main topic of discussion during Biden and Netanyahu’s first phone conversation in more than a month was the potential operation in Rafah.
Sullivan stated that Biden informed Benjamin Netanyahu that although he too wanted to eliminate Hamas, there needed to be a well-thought-out plan in place to do it.
“Instead of a pause to reevaluate the campaign and see what adjustments are needed, instead of a focus on stabilizing the areas Israel has cleared so that Hamas doesn’t resurface, the Israeli government is talking about a major military operation in Rafah,” Sullivan stated.
