Srinagar, April 5: U.S President, Joe Biden on Thursday asked the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protect civillians in Gaza or else there will a shift in U.S policy towards the war.
The warning from Biden came on a phone call with Netanyahu after a deadly Israeli strike on aid workers belonging to World Central Kitchen- A NGO that supplied food to people in Gaza, charity, that has been paused after the Israeli attack.
Biden has been successful in resisting pressure to withhold aid or halt the shipment of weapons to Israel. His warning marks the first instance he has threatened to potentially condition aid, a development that could have a potential impact on the dynamics of Israel’s offensive on Gaza which is now in its six-month, Reuters reported.
Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the White House said of the leaders’ phone call. It said the call lasted about 30 minutes.
As per the White House statement, Biden has “made clear that U.S. police with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
Washington is Israel’s top weapons supplier and the Biden administration has mostly provided a diplomatic shield for it at the United Nations.
At a briefing after the call, White House spokesperson John Kirby declined to elaborate on any specific changes the U.S. would make in its policy toward Israel and Gaza.
White House spokesperson, John Kirby said that Washington hoped to see an announcement of Israeli steps in the “coming hours and days.”
By suggesting a shift in U.S. policy toward Gaza was possible if Israel did not address the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, Biden channeled his own frustration along with mounting pressure from his left-leaning political base in the Democratic Party to stop the killings and alleviate hunger among innocent civilians.
