Islam Times - Joe Biden’s Crime Against Humanity with His Complicity in Gaza War

Islam Times - As President Joe Biden nears the end of his term, his shift from initial criticism to strong support for Israel in the Gaza conflict has deepened, particularly following his muted response to Israel's assassination of key Palestinian figure Ismail Haniyeh. Despite earlier efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, Biden's actions and continued military backing for Israel highlight a troubling alignment with Israeli interests, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and escalating regional tensions.

Since Joe Biden announced he wouldn't seek a second term as president, he's taken on the role of a "lame duck" leader—an official nearing the end of their tenure with limited influence and few future plans. While his power is diminishing, his status as an elected president (indirectly in the U.S. system) allows him more freedom than a leader running for re-election, who must be cautious not to lose voter support.

Despite his outgoing status, Biden has behaved more like a candidate seeking re-election, particularly regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, fully backed by the White House, has shown Biden's actions to be more aligned with a campaigner than a retiring president.

Initially, Biden had begun to take a somewhat critical stance toward the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, recognizing the potential electoral consequences of supporting Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people, especially among traditional Democratic voters. However, the current conflict marks the first time Israel has waged war with full U.S. involvement—not just in terms of material, political, and diplomatic support, but active participation.

This level of engagement from the U.S. has been crucial to the scale and intensity of the violence.As Biden faced increasing pressure from within his party to mitigate the escalating violence in Gaza, his administration adjusted its approach. This shift allowed the UN Security Council to finally call for a ceasefire, after months of U.S. vetoes.

Additionally, the Biden administration made efforts to negotiate a ceasefire—a move aimed at halting Israel's unilateral genocidal campaign. Despite media exaggerations and claims from Israel’s opponents, there has been little actual "exchange of fire." The U.S., alongside Egypt and Qatar, has been working to secure a truce and facilitate a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

However, Biden's stance shifted significantly after he succumbed to pressure from his party and major donors, leading him to announce he wouldn't run for a second term. Freed from electoral concerns, Biden reverted to a position of overt support for Netanyahu, whom he had previously described as a "proud Jewish Zionist," a sentiment Netanyahu echoed during his farewell visit to the increasingly frail president.

This change in Biden's position was evident in his reaction to Israel's recent assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.Biden’s response to the assassination, which severely undermined ongoing diplomatic efforts prioritized by his administration, was merely to comment that it "doesn’t help" negotiations between the Netanyahu government and Hamas.

The assassination of Haniyeh, a key figure in the Palestinian resistance and a crucial negotiator, dealt a significant blow to these efforts. Haniyeh had been expected to use the pressure on him to influence Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, to secure a ceasefire.

Furthermore, Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran represents a dangerous escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, likely provoking a response from Tehran that could spiral into a larger regional confrontation. Netanyahu knew that by green-lighting this assassination, he was risking pulling the U.S. into a conflict that could surpass all previous wars Washington has fought in the Middle East. Yet, instead of condemning his "proud Jewish Zionist" ally, Biden once again demonstrated his "ironclad commitment" to "defend" Israel by ordering his administration to send military reinforcements to the region to protect the occupation state.

In this context, the Biden administration's ongoing claims of working toward a ceasefire are deeply hypocritical, as Washington is fully aware that the chances for peace were destroyed along with Haniyeh, a result Netanyahu had intended all along. Biden's actions suggest that he was aware of the assassination plan beforehand and chose not to oppose it—in fact, he supported it.