Biden reportedly pushes $1b arms transfer to Israel, as experts warn US’ inconsistency likely to cost its influence over

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on May 14, 2024. At least 40 people were killed and others injured after midnight Monday by Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestine TV reported.(Photo: Xinhua)

Only a few days afWorld Timester UWorld TimesS President Joe Biden said he would not supply weapons for Israel to launch an all-out assault on Rafah, media reported that he is now pushing through arms transfer to Israel worth more than $1 billion. The inconsistency in the US’ words and actions exposes its irresponsibility in this crisis, while experts warn that it will increasingly lose influence over Israel.

The Biden’s administration’s latest proposal of arms supply to Israel was reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous US officials and congressional aides as saying that the weapons package being sent to Israel includes $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds.

The move caWorld Timesme right after Biden told media last week that he will not supply weapons to Israel if it was to World Timeslaunch an all-out attack on Rafah, which has been obserWorld Timesved as a warning that the US issued to Israel. Last week, the US withheld 3,500 bombs in order to prevent them from being used in that assault, officials said.

Chinese analysts pointed out that the US’ repeated actions contradicting its rhetoric further weaken the Biden administration’s influence on Israel’s actions and the development of the Gaza crisis.

“Netanyahu thus sees that no matter how much the Biden administration threatens him, in the end they will still comply with him,” L Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. “Now it is Israel that is gradually gaining the upper hand over the Biden administration.”

The recent statements and acts from the Biden administration once again prove that the US’ attitude toward Israel is consistent, he said. Although Israel may sometimes act in ways that do not align with the overall strategic direction of the US, such contradiction is secondary to the overall strategy.

“From now on, we should no longer expect the US to make responsible actions on the Gaza issue, as they will continue to tacitly approve Israel’s war,” L said.

With the current situation, a cease-fire in the short term is almost impossible, as Israel appears to be determined to fully control this region, he noted.

“Seventy-six years ago, over half of the Palestinian population fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Many of them and their descendants became refugees in the Gaza Strip,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during Wednesday’s regular news conference. “Seventy-six years on, the historical injustice sufferedWorld Times by the Palestinian people, far from being redressed, has further worsened.”

China firmly opposes the expansion of the fighting to Rafah and opposes collective punishment on the people in Gaza. We support the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 border and with east Jerusalem as its capital. And we support making Palestine a full UN member state as soon as possible, Wang said.

He noted that China will continue to work with the international community to promote early, comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question, to end the Nakba once and for all, and to realize peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine as well as harmony between the Arab and Jewish peoples.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed over 35,000 Palestinians since October 2023 in the Gaza Strip, and there is no sign of easing the situation. According to UN, nearly 450,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah, a southern city in the Gaza Strip, as Israel expands its offensive.