US shilly-shally obstructing cease-fire

A man inspects the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, Nov 5, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

The US House of Representatives approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package for Israel on Thursday in a "muscular" response to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which reflects a partisan approach by new House Speaker Mike Johnson and poses "a direct challenge" to the Democrats and President Joe Biden. Not surprisingly, Biden has said he would veto the bill.

Unlike before, the package requires the military aid to be offset with cuts in government spending elsewhere. The passing of the package, by 226-196 with 12 Democrats joining the Republicans on a largely party-line vote, as the Associated Press put it, not only served to establish the new Republican conservative leadership in the House but also turned what would typically have been a bipartisan vote into a divisive exercise between Democrats and Republicans.

The military aid package shows Washington's policy is not aimed at ending the Israel-Palestine conflict and resolving the Palestinian question through the two-state solution which all sides agreed to. Instead, it is a game of upmanship between the Republicans and Democrats.

The US' military aid, which will intensify Israel's offensive against Gaza and claim more lives in Gaza, stemmed from the Republicans' need to consolidate the new House speaker's status, force the federal government to cut budget spending, and gain the upper hand against both the Democrats and the Biden administration on core diplomatic issues.

The Republicans' approval of the military aid to Israel will further consolidate the Republican Party's relationship with elite Jewish groups, which would be expected to return the favor to the Republicans in different forms and at different times.

That 12 Democrats voted with the Republicans in favor of the package shows the pro-Israel group's influence on both sides of the political divide in Washington. The differences between the Democratic Party and the Biden administration over Israel are evident in the resignation of a number of key officials due to Biden's inaction to help end the Israel-Palestine conflict.

While the Republicans are taking advantage of the Israel-Palestine conflict to kill three birds with one stone in domestic politics, the Biden administration is apparently caught in a dilemma. It has to deal with the rivalry with the Republicans and the division within the Democratic Party at home, and the mounting pressure from home and abroad to press Israel to call a cease-fire. In particular, after Israel's incessant pounding of Gaza in which more than 11,000 Palestinians, including over 4,000 children, have been killed, the international community started questioning, even condemning the Biden administration's unconditional support for Israel.

Neither the repetitive visits of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East nor Biden's futile efforts last month to hold an Arab-US summit have sent the right signals that the Biden administration is ready to help end the conflict. The question is: How long will the US' shilly-shally be allowed to protract the conflict?