Joe Biden has just less than three weeks remaining as U.S. president, and Israeli leaders expect him to remain an obstacle to their war efforts until the end. That's according to Caroline Glick, senior contributing editor with The Jewish News Syndicate.
During an interview on Washington Watch Thursday, Glick told show host Tony Perkins media reports in Israel indicate Biden may have a third country – perhaps New Zealand or Slovenia – put forward a U.N. Security Council resolution that would demand Israel remove troops from buffer zones in Syria and Lebanon and end combat operations against Hamas in Gaza.
“That would tie the hands of the Trump administration much as the Obama administration did with a similar anti-Israel resolution that it passed in December of 2016 before Trump’s first administration began,” she explained.
While Biden makes moves, Israel plans its response. Defense Minister Israel Katz rung in the new year with an ominous warning, noting Hamas will face “blows of force not seen in Gaza for a long time,” if it does not stop its rocket fire against Israel and release the hostages, The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.
Israel has demonstrated willingness to make “far-reaching compromises” in accordance with Biden’s wishes, Katz added.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, Hamas launched two rockets into the southern Israel city of Netivot, The Times of Israel reported.
“The IDF will intensify its activities against the terror nests in Gaza until the release of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas,” Katz said – and then called on citizens of Gaza to overthrow Hamas.
“I call on the residents of Gaza to rise up against the murderous Hamas organization, which also uses you as human shields, and to bring about the release of the hostages to prevent suffering and end the war,” Katz said.
“We are at war, and we can’t just put it aside because we have 18 days left of Biden,” Glick said.
Ceasefire isn’t working
Israel is making moves against Hezbollah as well as Hamas. This is coming after the U.S. and France brokered an Israel-Hamas ceasefire which was announced on Nov. 26. It was supposed to last 60 days.
Israel has killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters since ground operations began in October, the IDF reports. Prior to the offensive, 12 were killed and roughly 2,800 injured in an Israeli operation that involved exploding pagers.
The ceasefire called for the Lebanese military to push Hezbollah forces out of South Lebanon, but the military is not engaging Hezbollah fighters. When Israel shares its findings, nothing happens.
“The people who are supposed to be adjudicating the implementation of the ceasefire, namely the United States and France, are not doing anything when Israel submits complaints to them,” Glick said.
IDF troops in South Lebanon took out Hezbollah missile launchers Thursday, and IDF leadership expects to have troops operating in Lebanon for the foreseeable future, Glick said.
In Syria, Israel is building fortifications on the Hermon Mountain range to protect Israeli border towns in the Golan Heights, she said.
The new leadership in Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has roots in al-Qaeda, and while it has not been hostile toward Israel since taking over, Israel has carried out strikes against strategic targets in Syria including military bases and weapons stores.
“Israel continues to fight on three fronts right now,” Glick said.
The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday that Iran plans to transfer “millions” of dollars to Hezbollah to stay in the fight against Israel. A flight with the cash landed at the international airport in Beirut, a potential target ignored by the IDF at Biden’s insistence, Glick said. As of Thursday, the cash had not been transferred to Hezbollah.
“The Lebanese authorities are saying they’re not going to be able to remove their cargo from the plane. We’ll see how long that lasts, probably until they think peoples’ backs are turned,” Glick suggested.
Holiday hostage hopes dashed
Just before Christmas there was talk that an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, one that would have included the return of the hostages, was very close. According to Glick, it’s not close anymore.
“Hamas decided Israel was getting the most out of the deal,” she reported, “so they just said 'never mind.' They reneged on their promise to hand over 32 live hostages. They said 12 of them would be dead. Then they said they don’t even know where all the hostages are.”
Trump has said there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t released before he takes office. He’s called for their release multiple times since his landslide election victory on Nov. 5.
“The talk about an imminent deal sort of dissipated. Now the sense is that nothing is going to happen until after Trump is in office,” Glick lamented.
