The White House is in the grip of a psychosis where the Israeli military campaign against Gaza is concerned, in that on the one hand, it is calling on Israel to abide by international law where the protection of civilians in wartime is concerned, while on the other hand, it is enabling the very genocide against the Palestinian population that Israel is committing by the U.S. unbridled support of Israel’s “right to defend itself.” The White House readout of the Oct. 29 phone call between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provides clinical spectacle of that psychosis. “The President reiterated that Israel has every right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism and underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians,” it says. “The President underscored the need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza.” The best way to address the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population is to stop the shooting and lift all restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, but there’s no indication in the readout that that was even suggested. Otherwise, the readout “regurgitated previous White House talking points on the war,” as the Times of Israel put it.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan provided further evidence of that psychosis during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday broadcast. “Israel was attacked in a brutal, vicious terrorist attack. They are taking steps to go after the terrorists who struck them. They have been doing so from the air. They’re now doing so on the ground,” Sullivan declared. Hamas, he claimed, “is hiding behind the civilian population, which puts an added burden on Israel to differentiate between the terrorists and innocent civilians, but it doesn’t lessen their responsibility under international humanitarian law and the laws of war to do all in their power to protect the civilian population. And that’s equally true moving in on the ground as it is taking strikes from the air.”
