Clash of Strategic Aims

Before October the 7th, the Israelis thought their dream for ‘from the Jordan River to the Sea’ has, for all intents and purposes, been realised. Despite the turn of events since then, this ideal is still paramount in Israel, above all other concerns.

The Americans, on the other hand, are concerned about the effect of this war on the populations of friendly Arab countries and also on their overall strategy of confronting China.  

The roots of this divergence of goals between the US and Israelis can be traced all the way back to the beginning of the Israel project.  Americans wanted a tool of hegemony in the Middle East to fit into their larger global scheme. Israelis, meanwhile, have always had a Zionist objective (milder or more extreme depending upon the faction involved).

In the past, whenever Palestinian/Israeli wars or conflicts flared up, they soon ended, giving the Americans and Israelis time to smooth over and hide their obvious strategic differences. This time around, they have been deprived of this opportunity. It is month nine since the start of the Gaza war and there is no end in sight.

In fact, the Israeli and American definitions of ‘the end of the war’ are divergent. Biden says the Israelis have almost won while Netanyahu declares the Israelis have not achieved all their goals, Hamas has not been eliminated and, obviously, all the Israeli captives have not been released. These two points, or derivatives thereof, remain outstanding.

If the pressure on Gazans can succeed in turning the population against Hamas and releasing Israeli captives, then Israel can declare victory.  But there is no sign of that happening.
Biden proposed a framework for a ceasefire, and claimed the proposal originated in Israel but what he calls a ‘win’ does not satisfy the appetite of most Israelis or the Israeli government.

The clash of strategic aims between the US and Israel seems inevitably to be leading to an imminent clash of current policies. For the moment, Israel seems to be trying to ameliorate the tension. Their latest ploy is to declare that major Israeli military operations will be finished within two weeks.  They are trying to fine tune the war in the context of the Israeli aims.This will not result in a meaningful long-term ceasefire. The clash will continue unless one side or the other is forced  to give way.

Meanwhile, the global majority fervently demands an end to this genocidal war.