.According to a diplomatic cable acquired by CNN, American diplomats in the Arab world have warned the Biden administration that its strong support for Israel’s costly and destructive military campaign in Gaza “is losing us Arab publics for a generation.”
The cable highlights the serious concerns held by American officials about the rising anti-American sentiment that surfaced shortly after Israel began its counteroffensive against Hamas, in response to the terrorist organization’s October 7 bombings in Israel that claimed the lives of over 1,400 Israelis.
A cable from the US Embassy in Oman on Wednesday stated, “We are losing badly on the messaging battlespace,” and it was based on interactions with “a wide range of trusted and sober-minded contacts.”
The cable cautions that the strong backing the US has given Israel’s operations is being interpreted as “material and moral culpability in what they consider to be possible war crimes.”
The National Security Council of the White House, the CIA, and the FBI were among the recipients of the cable, which was written by the second-ranking US diplomat stationed in Muscat. Even though it’s just one cable from a local embassy, it offers a glimpse behind closed doors into the mounting concern over the anti-US sentiment that’s sweeping the Middle East.
the administration has rejected calls for a truce
The statement in a state-run Egyptian newspaper that “President Biden’s cruelty and disregard for Palestinians exceeded all previous US presidents” was transmitted back to Washington via another cable that was obtained by the American embassy in Cairo.
In light of the horrific humanitarian situation in the area and the pictures of devastation in Gaza, President Joe Biden has been under increasing pressure both at home and abroad for US backing of Israel. Officials have sought to increase aid entering Gaza and have pushed for humanitarian pauses to allow additional supplies to enter the enclave and to allow civilians to evacuate the conflict, even while the administration has rejected calls for a truce.
US allies in the Arab world have expressed their intense rage at the Gaza humanitarian disaster in recent days.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was present at a conference last weekend that was called by the foreign minister of Jordan and included the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization in addition to senior officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
While Blinken reaffirmed US opposition, the Arab leaders at the meeting demanded an immediate truce in Gaza, claiming that doing so would allow Hamas to reorganize and prepare for another attack on Israel.
The White House announced onThursday.
Israel has consented to proceed with daily four-hour pauses of military operations in parts of northern Gaza, the White House announced on Thursday.
After his negotiations in Israel last week, Blinken reached a principled agreement on the pauses, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public opposition to the concept on Friday. The authorities pointed out that it was comparable to the time when the Israeli government opposed humanitarian aid to Gaza before choosing to let it, and that the Israeli prime minister was perceived as pandering to his coalition in doing so.
The US views this deal as progress because the Israelis are using the word “pauses,” which is something the US believes it can build upon, even though Israel has already been implementing such pauses.
Nonetheless, worries about US backing for Israel have intensified within the government.
There are senior officials who, in private, say there are parts of Israel’s military operations that they just cannot bear to defend; there is a growing movement among government workers for the US to support a ceasefire; and still others are distressed by the constant images of Palestinian civilians being killed by Israeli airstrikes.
Biden has also encountered mounting dissatisfaction on the home front.
Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place daily near the White House compound; last week, at a private fundraiser, the president was approached by a protester demanding a ceasefire; this week, bright-red handprints meant to resemble blood and phrases like “genocide Joe” covered one of the entrances close to the West Wing.
