U.S. Officials Can’t Say the Word “Genocide” When Looking at Israel’s Attempts at Mass Murder in Gaza

By David Starr

 

Three months in the Israel-Palestine War, U.S. officials went along with Israel’s denial of genocide in Gaza. That is, the USA has fully supported Israel. Thus, in January 2024, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing, “Those are allegations that should not be made lightly…we are not seeing acts that constitute genocide. That is a determination by the State Department.”

 

To claim something like this has made the USA complicit in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. On the Katie Halper show, U.S. President Joe Biden was taken to task for denying there has been a genocide. The nickname for Biden, “Genocide Joe,” has stuck and has been used regularly by critics and protesters of Israel. 

 

Biden has been “warning” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to target civilians, but Netanyahu, a fascist, has done it anyway. 

 

Recently, however, an agreement was made between Biden and Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Biden, previously giving a slap on the wrist of Netanyahu, appeared to have made a threat to take action if Israel continues blocking aid. It remains to be seen if Biden would follow through with the threat if Netanyahu reneges on the agreement. This has happened before, with Biden making several gestures to Netanyahu to bring in aid and not target civilians. But that hasn’t worked. The fascists in the Israeli government appear to be hell-bent on continuing their mass murder, based on racism and myths of religious supremacy.

 

Biden administration officials haven’t even pushed for a permanent ceasefire. The USA vetoed three resolutions for one in meetings of the UN Security Council; and it was alone in doing that. However, it abstained from the last proposed resolution. And Israel may not honor that resolution.

 

Biden’s refusal to push for a ceasefire is inexcusable. His administration gives the impression that the USA can’t prevent Israel from stopping its barbarity. Biden has only made suggestions to Netanyahu to tone down the military assault, while continuing to supply Israel with more weapons, which, in turn, are used to kill Palestinians.

 

Biden actually has the power to stop the war, according to Stephen Zunes writing in TruthOut. “Though Congress authorizes military aid, the president has the authority under the Arms Export Control Act to withhold (or threaten to withhold) U.S. military aid when the recipient nation violates U.S. or international law.”

 

And Israel has been committing violations regularly.  Zunes provides what laws Israel has broken:

 

“Israel is currently violating the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding treatment of civilians in war time, among a number of other statutes, and it is violating UN Security Council Resolution 2728, which demands an immediate temporary ceasefire. Israel is also in violation of Section 502B of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits aid to countries that prevent access to humanitarian relief supplies; the 1999 Leahy Amendment, which prohibits funding foreign security forces engaged in the commission of gross violations of human rights; and Biden’s own Security Memorandum 20, which requires U.S. security partners to provide written assurances that they will use U.S. military assistance in accordance with international law and facilitate humanitarian aid.”

 

Biden is defying the will of U.S. citizens, a majority who think Israel should not receive military aid. This is probably  because Republicans, especially, would consider him abandoning Israel. But Biden has those numerous laws that can justify taking action. Plus, he wouldn’t have any choice since it’s the law. Still, the Biden administration denies Israel is committing any violations like genocide. 

 

That can be seen in another briefing, with State Deportment spokesperson Matthew Miller claiming on March 25, “We have not found [Israel] to be in violation of international humanitarian law, either when it comes to the conduct of war or when it comes to the provision of humanitarian assistance.” Blatantly Orwellian.

 

In regards to the approved resolution where the USA abstained, White House spokesperson John Kirby made the ridiculous claim that the resolution is “non-binding.” Kirby adds that Israel can still go after Hamas. The UN Security Council obviously makes resolutions that are binding. Again, blatantly Orwellian. 

 

However, to make a resolution binding, it has to be enacted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. But the USA has not allowed this to happen.

 

The U.S. Congress has the power to constrain Biden but no action has been taken. Probably because most of Congress fully supports Israel. There is an ideological commitment which most will not challenge.

 

There is also the goal of eliminating Hamas, which has in the process caused the elimination of many Palestinians. Biden wants a new Middle East without the existence of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. But for one thing, Biden is in no position to justify his vision of this new Middle East, given how one-sided he has been in supporting Israel. Plus, the USA has to break the habit of deciding what’s “good” for other nations. And with the genocide going on, with the USA supporting Israel, a group like Hamas will probably get many recruits.

 

What about Palestinians attaining sovereignty with a newly-formed nation? Ideally, this should be the case. But, writing an opinion piece in the Middle East Monitor, Tamer Ajrami sees Palestinians having limited sovereignty over part of the Palestinian territories. This is part of a scenario written by Ajrami about potential negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Ajrami has Israel recognizing a Palestinian state, but to reiterate, with limited sovereignty. 

 

The thing is, Netanyahu and Israel’s fascist government will not recognize a Palestinian state. They have made that clear. Even if Netanyahu loses an election, the right-wing will still be there and will try impose its supremacist agenda; which means Palestinians would still be treated bad. 

 

Historically, Israel-Palestine negotiations have basically been one-sided, with Israel’s ally, the USA, playing the role of mediator. Palestinians have been accused of rejecting negotiations, but that’s because it meant Israel would not only keep the land it has already stolen, but would possibly continue to steal more land. After all, Israelis would continue to think that all the land in that area belongs to Israel, based on religious myths.

 

Biden ignores this scenario, being a self-proclaimed Zionist himself. And he has to deal with the Zionist lobby, which has had too much influence over U.S. politics. So, Biden would probably continue to appease the lobby. 

 

Biden wants to remake the Middle East, and Ajrami writes, this is another reason why Biden doesn’t push for a ceasefire, and why the USA vetoed resolutions in the UN Security Council to implement one. Even the USA abstaining from the last attempt at implementing a ceasefire has not shown progress. Biden’s attitude reflects the same old U.S. imperialism in deciding for others what they should do in their affairs. 

 

Biden’s goal to bend to Israel’s wishes to destroy Hamas is not realistic. Israel has blamed Hamas for all the carnage resulting from the war. But this excuse can only go so far. Hamas did not kill over 30,000 people as Israel has done. Israel’s excuses are all the more absurd when it has gone well beyond self-defense. The odds are probable that Hamas will still be around despite Israel’s determination to eliminate it no matter how many Palestinians die in the process. And, thus, it is so obvious that Israel is guilty of genocide.

 

In The Peace Advocate, published by MassPeaceAction, Kathleen Malley-Morrison had this to say about Biden: “The complicity of the US military industrial complex in the massacre of Palestinians is bringing, rightfully, considerable grief to the presidential campaign of the all-too-complicit Netanyahu ally Joe Biden.” Malley-Morrison goes on to criticize the “time-worn rationale that [Biden] is ‘the lesser of two evils.”’ She points out the outrage of many U.S. citizens, and many other people, writing, “Horror at President Biden’s refusal to call for a permanent ceasefire reverberates around the world.” 

 

Malley-Morrison quotes the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights, saying that “through its ongoing unconditional military, diplomatic, and political support to Israel, the United States is not only failing to prevent genocide, but is complicit.” She writes that protesters of “We the People” have made their messages loud and clear to Biden. “The messages abound: ‘Genocide Joe has got to go!’ ‘No ceasefire/no vote!’ ‘A ban on genocide Joe!’” But Malley-Morrison also points out that “Donald Trump is also an evil choice who won’t necessarily be on the Presidential ballot in November.” She seems to have some confidence that Trump will be in prison before November comes; which hopefully is true.

 

But U.S. voters are probably stuck with a Biden-Trump rematch, which is a disgrace. Both are obviously not real alternatives. If Biden would only step out of the presidential race, there would be a chance for an alternative to run. But in all probability, Biden will stick to his guns and may put the Democrats at a disadvantage if Trump, a fascist and criminal, gets into power again…as a tyrant.

 

It goes without saying that the death toll in Gaza has been horrific. In the World Socialist Web Site, Andre Damon writes that, “Over the course of just six months, 5.45 percent of Gaza’s population has been killed, wounded or is missing. A comparable percentage of the American population would be more than 18 million people.

 

“Most shocking of all is the fact that two-thirds of those killed are women and children. Israel has deliberately targeted medical workers, humanitarian workers, journalists and artists. 

 

“In the past six months, every element of the U.S.-Israeli justification for bombing, invading and blockading Gaza has been exposed as a lie.”

 

Hardline Israeli supporters have hysterically accused Hamas of committing many rights violations, which include, rape, murder, killing babies by decapitating them or putting them in ovens, cutting open pregnant women’s stomachs, and other false accusations. While there may have been incidents of rights violations by Hamas, hardline supporters have blown this all out of proportion.

 

The Biden administration’s denial of genocide by Israel has been grossly contradicted by the words of Israeli officials. 

 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asserted, “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly. I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel.”

 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog asserted, “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved…we will fight until we break their backbone.”

 

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter asserted, “We’re rolling out the Gaza Nakba,” which means “catastrophe.” It originally was coined by Palestinians when Zionists imposed ethnic cleansing and drove native Palestinians off the land.

 

Damon writes that those declarations by Israeli officials showed “genocidal intent, that Netanyahu systematically targeted all aspects of social, economic and cultural life in Gaza, working to level every hospital, school and home, and kill as many men, women and children as possible.” 

 

Making an important point, Damon writes, “The genocide has undeniably shown that the perspective of Zionism is bankrupt and reactionary. Israel will be forever be marked by its association with mass murder.”

 

Damon expands on his statement, writing, “Beyond Israel, the genocide stands as a condemnation of the entire imperialist order. The capitalist powers in the US/NATO axis have supported, armed, funded and politically justified one of the greatest crimes of the modern era.”

 

Damon writes that the Biden declared repeatedly that there will be no ceasefire. Biden said there is “no possibility” of it. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has continued to give Israel military aid. In the six months of the genocide, over 100 separate arms transfers have been implemented by Biden. At the same time, Biden has continued to be politically spineless in his “tough” negotiations with Netanyahu.

 

In conclusion, Damon writes that, “Most of all, the Gaza genocide is a crime of capitalism.”

 

Will the Biden administration continue being in denial about Israel’s genocide of Gaza? So far, it doesn’t look good. And history will judge Biden and Netanyahu harshly.