US Complicity in Israel’s War on Gaza: A Call for Action

Since the onset of renewed hostilities in October 2023, the conflict between Israel and Palestine has escalated dramatically, resulting in what many observers describe as a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ignited by a surprise attack from Hamas, which was followed by a military response from the Israeli government, the conflict has since unleashed a wave of destruction and suffering in the Gaza Strip. Who are those responsible for nearly a year of this unprecedented violence? What is the United States’s role in the conflict? And what can be expected in the Middle East in the coming months?

Wendy Pearlman, Professor of Middle East Studies at Northwestern University, joined Wyoming Star to discuss the issue.

 

What is US’s role in the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East?

While there are many devastating conflict in the region – such as a war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan, and ongoing suffering in Yemen and Syria – we in the United States must recognize our special and direct responsibility for Israel’s war on Gaza. Hamas committed a brutal attack on Israel on October 7, and for nearly eleven months since that day, the state of Israel has been committing atrocities and crimes against humanity being against Palestinians in Gaza. Much of the international community regards Israel’s actions as amounting to genocide because it is aiming to annihilate life in the Gaza Strip.

Estimates of those killed are between 40,000 to 200,000 Palestinians, tens of thousands of whom are children. Basically, all of the 2.2 million civilians have been forcibly displaced from their homes – people are just moving around from one place to another, as the borders are closed and they are trapped in Gaza. People are starving because Israel is blocking the entry of food and water. Israel is preventing medicine from getting in and the sick and injured from getting out, leading to deaths everyday. And now polio is beginning to spread. And at the same time, Israeli state and settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is accelerating, too.

This war is an abomination, and the US is enabling it by giving billions of dollars of aid and weapons to Israel. Washington has Palestinian blood on its hands. American citizens must face the fact that our country is not only complicit in this war, but partners in this war.

If we are sickened by the nonstop videos and pictures of children dying in Gaza, we must demand that the US demand a ceasefire.

President Joe Biden talks about how he wants a ceasefire, and now Kamala Harris is saying the same thing. But these are empty words as long as the US is giving billions of dollars and weapons to Israel. The US cannot  provide the military and political backing to this war and then go on saying “We’re doing all we can to bring the war to an end. We cannot provide Israel with the weapons it uses against civilians in Gaza and at the same time say that it is disturbed that civilians are dying.”

Until there is an arms embargo, any political talk about wanting a ceasefire is just hypocrisy. 

I think that [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu has an interest in continuing this war. If the war ends, he will have to face the domestic political consequences, including trial for his corruption charges. And if he ends the war, members of his coalition might withdraw, leading the government to collapse. So, the current Israeli government has an interest in keeping the war indefinitely, not least because they seem bent on destroying as much of Gaza as possible and also seizing whatever land they can in the West Bank.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have gone out into the streets for months, calling for a ceasefire and an end to the war. They themselves are unable to influence their government because Netanyahu’s coalition remains together and thus remains in power. 

So Israel will not stop this war unless it is pressured to do so from the outside. Many Israelis themselves are practically begging the US to put pressure on their government to stop this war in order to save the lives of those who remain hostage.

The US must recognize its role in this horrific war and take serious action to end it without any further delay.

 

What are the US’s reasons not to put pressure on Israel and keep sponsoring the war?

There are many reasons to explain it.

The United States has a decades-long story of supporting Israel, taking its side by not being an honest broker in the conflict with the Palestinians. And I think Joe Biden also has personal commitment to Israel, as we see in his continual mention of an unshakeable bond between the two countries. In this, I see Joe Biden as representing an older generation who sees Israel as a besieged underdog, which is completely out of sync with the reality of Israel today as a powerful state committing genocide against a trapped civilian population. 

More generally, across the political spectrum, most politicians in our system declare their support for Israel. There is only a small number of exceptional elected officials who are willing to criticize Israel. Some of them who have done so have faced serious consequences because groups supportive of Israel have poured a lot of time and money and work into getting these politicians out of office.

For example, take Cori Bush who lost her primary challenge in Saint Louis in early August. She is a strong critic of Israel and a supporter of Palestinian rights. An enormous amount of money was given to her challenger, Wesley Bell, and that was arguably why she lost that race. Other politicians have faced similar challenges or are aware that they could face them if they spoke out. 

So, the reality for politicians is that if you criticize Israel strongly and you voice your support for Palestinians’ struggle for freedom, dignity, and human rights, this could cost you your political career.  This is almost taken for granted as almost a truth of US politics, even though in opinion polls show that increasing numbers of Americans are critical of Israel and supportive of Palestinian freedom. There are opinion polls that now show that most Democrats would support candidates if they advocated cutting aid to Israel. I hope those seeking to represent the American people pay attention to these polls that show that people don’t want us to support Israel’s wars and occupation. People want a policy that is finally truly supportive of Palestinian rights.

 

Who of the presidential candidates – Trump or Harris – has a better strategy on the Gaza issue?

In my opinion, both candidates have terrible strategies.

On the one hand, there is Trump saying that we should allow Israel to take over the Gaza Strip and build luxury hotels on the seafront. So his presidency would be absolutely horrific for Palestinians.

On the other hand, the Biden-Harris side has nicer words with some nods of empathy about Palestinian sufferings, or recognition of Palestinians’ right to self-determination. But while the Democrates have better words, their actions tell a different story: they have enabled genocide of the Palestinian people. Oncew unimaginable atrocities have been committed, and they were committed on Biden-Harris’s watch. 

The US is currently on the side of genocide, and we cannot wait until inauguration of the next president for that to end.

 

Do you have any American politicians in mind who would be able to solve the situation peacefully?

At this point, there are no voices who push against the status quo on this issue at the level of those seeking national office. But I believe that day will come. Opinion polls show that young people are more supportive of Palestine and critical of Israel. It might be only a matter of time until this generational change in public opinion leads to change in foreign policy, as well. But I don’t want to wait that long. We cannot afford to wait that long. 

 

What can be expected of Iran, Lebanon (including paramilitary group Hezbollah) in the current situation?

The party interested in having war continue and spread is Israel under Netanyahu’s government. The current Israeli government seems to think that it can pursue a war in Lebanon to diminish or destroy Hezbollah, and that it can get away with it without significant negative consequences for its own government.

I don’t think that Hezbollah or Iran want war.

But when Israel assassinates a Hezbollah leader or carries out assassination of a Hamas leader on Iranian territory, it knows that it will provoke a response. And as long as Israel is continuing to bombard Gaza, it is also provoking these other actors whose political identities and claims to legitimacy emphasize solidarity with Palestine. And this is especially the case when the rest of the world is doing nothing to stand up for Palestinian lives.

All of this leads to one thing: the way to prevent a larger regional conflict is to pressure Israel to stop its war on Gaza and also to stop provoking war on other fronts.