(Washington) What does Joe Biden hope for by going to the Middle East, which has never been so close to conflagration? The American president left for Israel on Tuesday, but had to give up also going to Jordan, while the shooting against a hospital in Gaza further increased tension.
The 80-year-old democrat, by announcing his trip on Monday, was already making a huge bet: that of being able to present himself both as the guarantor of Israel’s security in its war against Hamas, and as the best hope of civilians Palestinians, and as a bulwark against the risks of regional escalation.
But this quest for balance, which was based on a stop in Tel Aviv followed by a trip to Jordan, was shattered even before his departure.
Joe Biden, who boarded Air Force One around 5:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, said he was “postponing” his visit to Amman.
Jordan had anyway canceled the summit in which he was to participate, with King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Joe Biden expressed Tuesday “his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the explosion of a hospital in Gaza” and wished “a speedy recovery to the injured”.
He also spoke on this subject with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah II of Jordan, the White House said.
But the American president did not comment on the origin of the shot which caused the death of at least 500 people, while Hamas blames Israel, and the Israeli army blames Islamic Jihad.
“Day of Anger”
In this excessively tense atmosphere, while demonstrations are taking place in several Arab countries, Lebanese Hezbollah is calling for a “day of anger” on Wednesday.
Certainly, Joe Biden, undoubtedly the best-kept head of state in the world, had already visited Kyiv in February, in a country at war. But he was welcomed there as a great friend, even though he arrived in the Middle East with the risk of fueling the conflagration of the conflict, rather than avoiding it.
He who judged that Israel had the “duty” to defend itself after the bloody Hamas attack on October 7, what message can he convey by showing himself alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while many Arab countries accuse Israel of the strike on the Gaza hospital?
How, after such a meeting, can we convey the message that the civilians of the enclave can count on him to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe they are going through?
Joe Biden also takes the risk of returning empty-handed, with no promise from the Israeli government to let humanitarian aid into Gaza, with no answers for the families of American nationals held hostage by Hamas, the exact number of whom is n is not known.
The United States has also failed, so far, to convince Egypt to at least partially open its border to let in Palestinian civilians fleeing incessant bombings.
By going to the region, the leader of the most powerful army in the world is also testing his capacity to deter Hezbollah, and therefore Tehran.
” The most powerful ”
The United States, which is already Ukraine’s main supporter and wants to retain strategic resources to stand up to China, does not want the conflict to expand.
“We are the United States of America, for God’s sake, the most powerful nation […] of world history. We can take care of” Ukraine and Israel at the same time, the president said Sunday on CBS.
He will ask Congress for a common envelope of $100 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the migration crisis on the border between the United States and Mexico, a source close to AFP told AFP.
But Joe Biden is not entirely in control of the situation: any major additional deployment of aid to Israel must be validated by the American Congress. However, the latter is currently paralyzed by the hard right which is trying to impose one of its own at the head of the House of Representatives.
The Democrat, campaigning for a second term, cannot afford the slightest sign of weakness, while America has 30 deaths since the Hamas attack, and fears an outbreak of hatred against Jews and Muslims, in a country already violently divided.