By Iqbal Jassat
US President Joe Biden finds himself between a rock and a hard place for his role in the Israeli war against Palestinians in what global consensus accepts is a genocide in Gaza.
And it’s not by accident that the American president got himself in a tangle with pro-Palestinian protesters inside the United States amid a massive student movement sweeping the country.
A dominant narrative in mainstream American media points to the irony that during the time Biden facilitated Benjamin Netanyahu’s genocidal war, he was supported by all pro-Israel apologists.
Now that he has been forced to put a pause on arms shipments to the Israeli regime, as reported by some media, he has become an object of hate and vehemently despised by the same constituency.
The love/hate paradigm is typical of ardent Zionists who believe that America's domestic and foreign policy in support of the regime in Tel Aviv must remain ironclad, without any conditions, even if it is in open defiance and blatant violation of international law, as is the case.
According to some reports, the White House has delayed the transfer of 2,000 and 500-pound bombs over concerns that the Israeli occupation army could use them in densely populated Rafah in southern Gaza.
Netanyahu's regime has been planning an invasion of the city despite global outcry and warnings.
The suspension of arms and reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to deliver a report to US Congress that will be highly critical of Israel has resulted in a huge firestorm.
To understand Biden’s dilemma, Democratic billionaire donor and a staunch supporter of the Israeli war on Gaza, Haim Saban, reportedly sent an angry email to him over his Rafah warning.
“Let’s not forget that there are more Jewish voters who care about Israel, than Muslim voters that care about Hamas,” he wrote.
Also "Hamas <3 Biden,” tweeted Israel’s fascist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“The US is threatening not to give us precise missiles,” declared Israeli MK and Likud party leader Tali Gottlieb. “Oh yeah? Well, I got news for the US. We have imprecise missiles. I’ll use it. I’ll just collapse ten..buildings. That’s what I’ll do.”
However, Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) Executive Director, Stefanie Fox, holds views diametrically opposed to Zionism's irrational fan club.
“Biden’s statement is as necessary as it is overdue. The US already bears responsibility for months of catastrophic devastation: The nearly 40,000 Palestinians that the Israeli military has killed, the two million Palestinians being intentionally brought to the brink of famine, the decimation of all universities and almost every hospital in Gaza,” he stated.
“Today’s statement shows that Biden can no longer ignore the will of the majority of Americans who want a permanent ceasefire, release of all hostages, and an end to US complicity in Israeli war crimes.
"Netanyahu regime and President Biden alike have positioned this ongoing genocide as a benefit to Jewish life and safety, and for months tens of thousands of American Jews have called out: Not in our names!”
Those courageous enough to have opposed Biden’s funding and arming of the apartheid regime in Tel Aviv, make a coherent argument in line with objective findings of human rights organizations.
They argue that Biden's halt on weapons is an admission of guilt. In other words, he knows that the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) he has supplied via an arms bridge corridor have and continue to kill Palestinians.
While Biden is battling to retain his political office, student protests across US universities demanding sanctions and divestments have added to his woes.
He is well aware that not only Americans but masses across the world hold him responsible for the ongoing carnage in Gaza. The message resounding across Western capitals as well as on college campuses in the United States is loud and clear: Biden is complicit in the Gaza genocide.
Even if he sticks to his guns (no pun intended) Biden's culpability makes him a candidate for prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a war criminal. That is if the ICC grows a backbone by refusing to be bullied and performing its duty without fear or favor.
Reports indicate that the Biden administration has since October 7, 2023, dispatched billions in weapons to Israel, a blank cheque to Netanyahu and his criminal gang of warlords to use as they please.
Whatever cat-and-mouse game Biden is playing, the reality is that Rafah has been overrun by Netanyahu’s ground forces. The densely populated area has been sealed off with all border crossings, including the main artery to Egypt, shut down.
Bombs continue to rain down on the hapless people there while massacres and assaults on the few remaining hospitals in Rafah have also intensified.
So while Biden desperately tries to untangle his administration from the knots he willingly and consciously allowed Netanyahu to tie him in, the horror of genocide facing Palestinians in Gaza will continue to haunt him.
Iqbal Jassat is an executive member of Media Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa.
(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)