President Joe Biden on Saturday reiterated his opposition to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as his vision of a two-state solution in which Israel would co-exist with a “revitalized Palestinian Authority” governing both the West Bank and Gaza.
In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, the president argued that a halt to the fighting between Israel and the Hamas terror group would not bring lasting peace, but would instead allow Hamas to regain strength and “perpetuate its hate.”
“As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace,” the president wrote in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.
For members of Hamas, President Biden wrote, a ceasefire only gives them the opportunity “to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again.”
For Palestinian civilians in Gaza, Hamas remaining in control of the enclave will deny them “the chance to build something better for themselves,” he added.
“If Hamas cared at all for Palestinian lives, it would release all the hostages, give up arms, and surrender the leaders and those responsible” for the brutal attacks that took place on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists stormed the Israel–Gaza border and massacred more than 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians.
As the war stretches through its second month, with Israeli forces escalating both air raids and ground sweeps in Gaza, President Biden indicated that he shares Israel’s goal of uprooting Hamas from the region once and for all.
“Our goal should not be simply to stop the war for today—it should be to end the war forever, break the cycle of unceasing violence, and build something stronger in Gaza and across the Middle East so that history does not keep repeating itself,” he wrote.
The only way to accomplish these objectives, according to President Biden, is a two-state solution backed by commitments from not only Israelis and Palestinians, but also from the United States and its allies.
“That work must start now,” he wrote, laying out some initial steps of his blueprint for peace.
To start, the president said, “There must be no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no reduction in territory.”
He then called for a post-war government that could represent Palestinians of both Gaza and the West Bank. The two territories, he said, should reunite “under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority.”
In addition to this, President Biden said he has been “emphatic” with Israeli leaders that they must stop the “extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.” The United Sates, at the same time, is “prepared” to ban entry of anyone “attacking civilians in the West Bank.”
The president’s comments come as more Democrats in Congress join the call urging the White House to work toward a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a Nov. 15 letter to President Biden, a group of 24 members of Congress said they have “deep concerns” about “grave violations against children” during Israel’s military campaign.
“Without an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a robust bilateral ceasefire, this war will lead to a further loss of civilian life,” reads the letter signed by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and 21 others, many of whom are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Another two notable signatories are Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.), who have neither previously called for a ceasefire nor signed on to the lower chamber’s “Ceasefire Now” resolution.
“We thank the President for calling for a humanitarian pause so that humanitarian aid may flow and diplomacy may take place,” the Democrats wrote. “However, given the present lack of an apparent and clear strategic plan, we encourage a redoubling of efforts to achieve rapid de-escalation through a ceasefire and robust, regional engagement that includes international humanitarian organizations.”
The letter was followed by an opinion piece from Rep. Becca Balint (D-Ver.), in which the Jewish congresswoman said she has changed her previous position on the Middle Eastern war to call for a ceasefire.
“What is needed right now is an immediate break in violence to allow for a true negotiated cease-fire,” Ms. Balint, whose father is Holocaust survivor, wrote in the article published Nov. 16 on VTDigger, an online newspaper in her home state.
“I do not claim to know how to solve every aspect of this decades-long conflict,” wrote Ms. Balint. “But what I do know is that killing civilians, and killing children, is an abomination and categorically unacceptable—no matter who the civilians are, and no matter who the children are.”
