USA addresses clear words to Israel
The tone adopted by leading US politicians towards Israel is becoming harsher. Secretary of State Antony Blinken once again calls for the protection of civilians. President Biden also reiterates the issue to Prime Minister Netanyahu. The main issue is the security zones.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has once again called on Israel to do more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli leadership has taken important additional steps in this direction, said Blinken after a meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron in Washington. However, there was still a gap between what he had suggested during his recent visit to Tel Aviv and what could be observed in terms of actual results.
Blinken said, for example, that it was not just a matter of setting up security zones, but also communicating about them in such a way that people actually knew where they could flee to, when exactly and by what route. There must also be food, water and medicine for the refugees in such safety zones. "This is something we talk about regularly with the Israelis," he emphasized. US President Joe Biden also addressed this in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We are aware of the extraordinary difficulty of this task, as Israel is dealing with a terrorist enemy" that deliberately mingles with civilians, said Blinken. Nevertheless, Israel is obliged to do everything in its power to protect civilians. Israel's actions against the Islamist Hamas in Gaza have been widely criticized due to the high number of casualties among the Palestinian civilian population.
The tone has changed
In the first weeks of the war, the US government had completely held back with public advice and focused on unconditional support for Israel. Recently, however, the tone has changed conspicuously.
During a visit to Tel Aviv at the end of November, Blinken warned that "before resuming major military operations, Israel must draw up humanitarian plans to protect the civilian population and minimize further casualties among innocent Palestinians".
US Vice President Kamala Harris also said a few days ago: "We believe that Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians." Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.
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Source: www.ntv.de
