Recently, US-Israeli relations have reached an impasse over military operations in the Gaza Strip. Despite the deep personal relationship between the two heads of state that has lasted for more than 40 years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rarely heeded the advice of the United States** Biden and insisted on a tough military posture in Gaza. What are the reasons and considerations behind this?
First, from a domestic political point of view, Netanyahu is under tremendous pressure. Widespread support in Israel for tough measures against Hamas, and Netanyahu's coalition, which includes far-right parties, have made it difficult to compromise on foreign policy.
In addition, Netanyahu himself is also suspected of corruption and may face legal prosecution if he does so. As a result, he is likely to gamble his political life on eliminating Hamas and freeing hostages in order to consolidate his position in power.
Secondly, at the regional and international levels, Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have attracted widespread attention and criticism from the international community. Biden has no choice but to put pressure on Israel in order to maintain his vision of stability in the Middle East and to consider the impact of swing state elections on election results. However, Israel has seen through the weakness of the United States' inability to stop providing aid to it, so it has the audacity to stick to its military plan.
In addition, there are differences between the United States and Israel on issues such as the treatment of Iran. Israel sees Iran as the biggest threat, while the United States is trying to resolve its dispute with Iran diplomatically. This difference in strategy has also further exacerbated the rivalry between the United States and Israel.
To sum up, the reasons why Netanyahu did not heed Biden's advice are many, including domestic political and ** pressures, as well as regional and international considerations. However, such a tough posture is likely to lead to Israel's regional isolation and cast a shadow over the U.S. vision of stability in the Middle East. It remains to be seen whether the U.S.-Israel relationship will be able to get out of the doldrums in the future.