Haaretz: News to put more pressure on Israel to end current phase of war

Occupied Jerusalem—— Pro-Israeli U.S. and European governments have stepped up pressure on the Israeli government Benjamin Netanyahuin recent days to end widespread fighting Gaza Strip Within a few weeks.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday that the parties would pressure Netanyahu to replace bombings and fighting with targeted attacks and assassinations against Islamist resistance leaders.agitation),.

Yesterday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who visited Israel on Monday, and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who visited last week, sent clear messages to members of the Israeli Defense Ministry Cabinet on the matter.

Support and discussion

This comes as the presidential administration continues to hold office Joe Biden In Washington, the United States has publicly expressed its full support for Israel's goals in the Gaza war, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby even saying over the weekend that the administration believed “this situation could continue for months.”

However, Kirby explained that the United States and Israel are discussing “a transition from high-intensity military operations to lower-intensity, more precise military operations.”

At the end of the meeting with the Israeli Security Minister Yoav GalanteAustin published a brief letter in which he wrote that they discussed the goals and phases of the war and the protection of civilians.

According to an Israeli source familiar with the details of the negotiations, Austin made clear that the current phase of the war, in which Israeli forces are operating deep in Gaza and causing severe damage to civilian infrastructure, must end.

Speaking to Haaretz, the Israeli source added, “Austin has not set an exact date, but the message is very clear.”

Experience and discussion

Media briefing for reporters before landing at the airport in Austin Ben Gurion in a city tel avivA U.S. security official said the experience gained by the U.S. Secretary of Defense in this regard Afghanistan andIraqThis was at the heart of discussions when he was army commander and is relevant to Israel's ongoing discussion of the dilemma of the Gaza war.

The U.S. official explained that Austin could provide a valuable perspective on these issues and dilemmas, and he did just that. He added that he “discussed with the Israelis ways to switch between different phases of fighting.”

According to Haaretz, the Biden administration is not the only one to have conveyed such messages to Israel in recent days, with both governments calling… U.K. andGermanyThe two most pro-Israel countries in the West agreed to a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza earlier this week. The newspaper said that Netanyahu's government did not formally respond to invitations from Britain and Germany.

as she called France A ceasefire was reached earlier, which Israel criticized.

The Biden administration remains almost the only country to openly oppose the ceasefire, which was also reflected in a recent vote on the matter by the United Nations Security Council.

Invitation and criticism

Israeli officials interviewed by Haaretz estimated that calls for a ceasefire from European governments and growing criticism of Netanyahu in the U.S. Senate and Congress are being coordinated with the U.S. government.

According to him, “Biden is thinking about these things, but he is not announcing it or saying it directly at the moment, but he is talking to other people who are keen to get this message out.”

The U.S. government's stance came as Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who is close to President Joe Biden, attacked Netanyahu, calling him a “problematic partner” in an interview.

Coons, who has been backed by pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC over the years, has mostly refrained from harsh criticism of Israel, but said Netanyahu “has done everything in his power over the years to undermine Israel's vision for peace.”

Last week, prominent Jewish Democratic congressman Steve Cohen said Biden was “tired” of the war in Gaza.

Cohen warned that if Israel does not change its approach, “it will lose its last true friend in the world, and that is President Biden.”

sounds and consequences

The newspaper stated that since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, “there have been voices even within the Republican Party asking Israel to consider the consequences of military operations in Gaza.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, considered a key supporter of Israel, said in an interview with NBC on Sunday that Israel must consider the impact of the Gaza war on normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.

Graham explained, “Those who want to weaken Iran in the long term must not allow it to undermine Israel's relationship with Saudi Arabia.”

He added that Saudi Arabia and other countries would not be able to normalize with Israel if Israel continues its practices against the Palestinians.

Graham added that after the events of October 7 last year, “there were two options: continue the cycle of death, or use the disaster as an impetus for change.”

He continued, “I think the Arabs are going to demand some kind of two-state solution and Israel is going to demand a security buffer zone. I don't know how it's going to end, but I'm very clear that if we don't do it this time, if it succeeds, it's going to take It will take a generation to reach an agreement.”