Biden cracks down on West Bank settlers

Yesterday, in what seems like a daring move, Biden announced a visa ban targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank. 

The policy move follows President Biden’s warning last month that sanctions could be imposed on individuals the US views as involved in violence against Palestinians, particularly in the larger territory. 

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US is in the process of sanctioning people, likely to impact dozens of individuals and their family members. The State Department typically does not publish visa bans.

(The Hill, December 5, 2023)

This is a feckless attempt to quell escalating violence in Gaza. It’s like Biden finally saying, “Enough is enough,” but with the subtlety of a diplomatic post-it note rather than a shout.

A travel ban on settlers to combat unchecked violence?

This is no time for diplomatic niceties. Yes, “dozens” of Israeli settlers have been perpetrating retaliatory and land-grabbing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. And they have been doing so with impunity – often with the collaboration of Israeli soldiers. 

But the greater concern should be the tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers. They are causing  Palestinian casualties in Gaza that make the settlers’ actions in the West Bank seem like mere third-degree assaults.

Yet, Biden is punishing the settlers. The idiom, putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, comes to mind. 

But “extremist settlers” are perfectly happy to settle in Palestinian territories without ever setting foot in the US. So Biden threatening to ban them from traveling to America will have no effect.

It’s like the UK prime minister threatening to ban American pioneers who killed Indians to settle their lands from traveling to England. Do you think those pioneers would’ve given a sh*t? 

The irony of unconditional US support

Meanwhile, Israel turned its attention to south Gaza this week. But recall that when it began in north Gaza, it ordered all civilians to flee to the south for refuge. Now, Israel has declared its intent to wage retaliatory strikes and raids in the south with the same kind of ruthless vengeance it waged in the north.

And, just as he did when Israel began in the north, Biden is urging restraint, clearly to no avail. Indeed, Israel is leaving a trail of destruction that would make Sherman’s March to the Sea look like a leisurely stroll.

Yet Biden keeps declaring unconditional US support for Israel as an article of faith. He wants the world to believe that Israel will moderate its behavior according to US concerns. The reality is almost Kafkaesque. 

Frankly, Israel thinks it can bank on US support no matter how many Palestinians it kills. That is self-evident.

Indeed, like Trump’s boast about shooting someone and not losing any MAGA support, Israel is effectively boasting that it can bomb, starve, and freeze Palestinians to death and not lose any US support. 

More to the point, I suspect Biden had an ulterior motive for announcing these visa bans on West Bank settlers. He’s trying to assuage US guilt by association with the alleged war crimes Israel is committing against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Biden should channel Bush, George H.W.

Biden appears helpless in the face of Israel’s determined intent to destroy not just Hamas but Gaza itself. In fact, Israeli cabinet ministers are mocking Biden’s pleas for restraint. 

They are vowing to destroy Gaza the way Allied forces destroyed German cities like Dresden during WWII. Hell, a right-wing member even called for Israel to drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza.

However, it does not have to be this way. Former President George H.W. Bush had his secretary of state, James A. Baker 3d, deliver a blunt message during the 1990 peace talks:

Call us when you’re serious about peace.

Biden should take a page out of that playbook. Instead of tiptoeing around the issue, he should leave Israel and Hamas to their own devices, signaling a hands-off approach until both are serious about a ceasefire. It’s high time for a dose of tough love.

Create a safe zone in Gaza

In the meantime, Biden should announce that the US cannot countenance Israel killing as many Palestinians in south Gaza as it did in north Gaza. He should also state that the US cannot condone Hamas holding Israeli hostages and using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

Biden should pledge to coordinate with Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to create a safe zone in north Gaza, where Israel now claims control. He should condition continued US support on Israel opening humanitarian corridors to this area. This would enable those countries and international organizations to funnel aid 24/7 to set up the biggest refugee camp in history. 

All countries involved should participate in convoys to relocate Gazans from the south to this safe zone in the north. Israel should welcome the goodwill from participating in this herculean humanitarian relief effort. But it should also welcome the opportunity to vet Gazans as they seek refuge. 

Many Hamas fighters would undoubtedly seek refuge. And many would probably be happy to provide intelligence on Israeli hostages for leniency and shelter. Israel would then be free to root out the die-hard Hamas fighters hunkered down in tunnels across south Gaza. 

I fully appreciate that the US is caught between a rock and a hard place. But it has always been thus when navigating the treacherous waters of peace in the Middle East. It’s terminally frustrating. 

But this visa ban is about as impactful as shouting into a hurricane. I cannot overstate this fact. 

The best way for Biden to assuage US guilt is to marshal forces to set up that comprehensive safe zone. Organizers should employ Palestinians to begin cleaning up and rebuilding their homes and lives.