During a televised debate on June 27, Republican candidate Donald Trump accused President Joe Biden of failing to adequately support Israel in its war on Gaza, asserting that his Democratic opponent “has become like a Palestinian”, a statement for which he drew backlash for using the word as a slur.
“But they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He is a weak one,” Trump said, accusing Biden of preventing Israel from ‘finishing the job’ in the besieged Palestinian enclave where the Zionist state has killed more than 39,000 people since October 7.
Trump’s words were in sharp contrast to the Biden administration’s staunch support for Israel–he has the country at war with significant military aid in the past 10 months, including a $1 billion package consisting of tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, missiles, as well as mortar rounds.
"The only thing I've denied Israel was 2,000-pound bombs; they don't work very well in populated areas," Biden said as he defended himself against Trump’s allegations.
The US has faced global condemnation for supporting Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, and the Biden administration has been accused of complicity in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
A poll by The Arab American Institute (AAI) in May showed that Arab American support for Biden, which was 60 percent in the 2020 elections, dropped to just under 20 percent in key swing states such as Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, since October 7.
All-weather ally since day 1
Soon after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the US President expressed his country’s “unwavering” and “rock solid” commitment to supporting its ally and declared that his administration was “ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel”.
On October 18, the US vetoed a United Nations Security Council proposal calling for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
That was the day after air strikes killed at least 500 people in an attack on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza –a massacre Israel denied responsibility for.
About a week later, on October 25, Biden expressed scepticism about the death toll reported by Palestinians, saying he had "no confidence" in their numbers.
“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” he stated.
At the time, the Gaza health ministry had reported over 6,500 Palestinian deaths, a figure that has since risen sixfold.
Another resolution calling for pauses in fighting was drafted by Malta at the UN Security council in November, which the US abstained from. By February 20, the US had vetoed three times a draft resolution by the UN Security Council on the Israel's war on Gaza, blocking calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and instead pushing for a temporary ceasefire linked to hostage release.
It was around this time that the US proposed a rival draft resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the fighting and opposing a major ground offensive by Israel in Rafah, Gaza’s southern city, which saw millions of refugees flowing in after being declared a safe zone by Israel at the beginning of its onslaught.
Biden’s ‘not so red’ line
The month of May appeared to mark a breaking point for Biden’s previously uncompromising support for its ally.
The US president said the US wouldn’t supply further weapons to Israel if it went on with an invasion of Rafah.
The White House said they were holding up a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogramme) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (225-kilogramme) bombs because of the president’s concerns.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” Biden said on a May 8 interview on CNN –a statement that proved to be a false not long after it was delivered.
On May 26, Israeli forces targeted tents of displaced Palestinians near the UNRWA headquarters in northwestern Rafah, claiming the lives of at least 45 people and leaving dozens more injured, according to Gaza's government media office. When questioned about whether or not the massacre was considered a violation of Biden's “red line”, White House spokesperson John Kirby stated that the US was not planning any policy changes as a result of the Israeli actions. “As I said, we don’t want to see a major ground operation. We haven’t seen that at this point.” Kirby said during a press briefing on May 29.
Anyhow, the US decision to withhold weapons from Israel was short-lived.
On July 10, the White House announced that it had decided to move forward with the shipment of hundreds of 500-pound bombs to Israel —previously paused due to concerns about assaults in Rafah, according to two US officials.
In defending his administration's handling of the war in Gaza, Biden said, “By the way, I’m the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody. I’m the guy that opened up all the assets. I’m the guy that made sure that I got the Egyptians to open the border to let goods through, medicine and food.”
‘No difference’ for Palestinians
For Palestinians, Biden’s withdrawal from the elections holds little promise for change.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has long labelled himself the most pro-Israel president in the nation’s history. During his tenure, the former president moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he unilaterally recognised as the capital of Israel.
Kamala Harris, who will more than likely replace Joe Biden in the race, has maintained a rhetoric that aligns with Biden's stance on Gaza since October 7, although analysts say she may be more willing to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out on his actions.
“No doubt (this) will affect us on a big scale, but if it is (Joe) Biden the president or if it is (Donald) Trump the president we, the Palestinians, will always be the people who are hurt in this international community. This is the reality; we can see it in the war on Gaza,” Mukaram Muhtasib, a Palestinian in the Occupied West Bank, tells reporters.
“For me, we saw Trump before (when he was in charge), we saw what he did. I told you, they are playing the same role but (with a different person), nothing more,” Hebron resident Loay Abu Sharkh says.
"All US presidents proved that they are all the same and no one was fair to our Palestinian cause.”
