As of early Oct. 2023, Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant resistance group Hamas, causing a series of attacks, resulting in 1,400 Israeli casualties and the capturing hundreds of hostages. Israel responded with countless attacks on the Gaza strip, resulting in over 20,000 Palestinian casualties. President Biden visited Israel to discuss the conflict and express his support for Israel; however, Biden has not done enough to help Palestinians that are currently being displaced and attacked. Thus, his inaction is leading to more violence and death amongst Palestinians.
In order to understand the ongoing conflict happening between Israel and Palestine, it is imperative to understand its origins. The Partition Plan, which aimed to split Palestine into Arab and Jewish states was approved by the United Nations in 1947. When the State of Israel was established in May 1948, the notion that Jewish people annexed Arab land led to the outbreak of the first Arab-Israeli War. Over 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and the Palestinian territory was split into the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip when the war came to an end in 1949, with Israel emerging victorious. In December 1987, Members of the Muslim Brotherhood created Hamas, a military resistance organization established to defend their land against Israel.
On Oct. 18 of this year, Biden landed in Israel to reiterate his unwavering support for Israel and aimed to discuss sending humanitarian aid to Palestinians. According to the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, the clear impression he left was that his administration would give the Israelis the time, space, and support to deal with Hamas in the way they saw fit. The administration has also proposed a two-billion-dollar assistance package, including interceptors for Iron Dome, which protects against incoming short-range weapons, precision-guided munitions, and ammunition.
The blatant support for Israel that Biden upholds ultimately harms Palestinians and encourages the further displacement of them. In his address after his visit to Israel, he expresses that terrorists need to be reprimanded to pay a price for their aggression. This verbiage ultimately frames innocent Palestinian civilians as the aggressors’, thus villainizing them in an attempt to justify displacing them from their rightful land. Additionally, Biden sending funds to Israel reaffirms that Israeli leaders are innocent in killing Palestinians who have no affiliation with Hamas.
Biden’s inaction in aiding Palestine not only creates an anti-Palestinian attitude in America but ultimately kills and displaces more Palestinians. According to Brookings.edu, an institution that researches public policy, despite the president’s appeal to Americans to “refrain from anti-Palestinian language,” his stance on the violence has effectively legitimized Israeli behavior that inflicts tremendous human suffering. On Oct. 25, the president went further, questioning the reported number of “Palestinian casualties,” saying that he had “no faith in the number that the Palestinians are using,” and downplaying the thousands of civilian deaths as “the cost of war.” While Biden has expressed regret over the humanitarian crisis, his language has often sounded as if it were the result of a natural disaster, rather than the result of cruel Israeli behavior using U.S. weapons and funds that he has not denounced.
Many may argue that Biden has acted in favor of Palestinians by encouraging humanitarian aid to Gaza, however, this aid is ultimately ineffective, due to the fact that he has sent significantly more aid to Israel to fund their violence and has outwardly expressed unwavering support for them. Additionally, many would argue that Israel is a close ally of the United States, so Biden must support Israel, however, allyship does not condone the funding of unjust and immoral genocide.
In order to end the war, and for peace to take place, Biden and other world leaders need to call for a cease fire, as it is unjust for innocent Palestinians to suffer at the hands of Israel with almost no means of escaping. Additionally, Biden should send more humanitarian aid to Palestinians to help them build their economy and heal from the years of displacement they have faced at the hands of Israel.