LOS ANGELES.–President Joe Biden, 81, panders to his party’s left wing, criticizing him for the extraordinarily high death toll in Gaza, as reported by the Hamas Ministry of Health. Early in the war, started Oct. 7, 2023 after a Hamas massacre and hostage-taking of Israeli civilians, Biden told the truth that Hamas cannot be trusted to give an accurate account of civilian or military deaths. “What they say to me is I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging war,” Biden said Oct. 28. Biden’s statement was slammed by the U.S. and global Islamic press for questioning Hamas figures, despite the fact they’ve given no verification of any casualties or death toll. Israeli officials say Hamas tallies of civilian deaths in Gaza at the hands of Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] are grossly exaggerated.
Faced with an uphill reelection battle, Biden already felt the sting of the Michigan primary, home to the nation’s largest Muslim population, voting uncommitted, all because they see Biden as having a strong Israeli bias in the Gaza War. Members of Biden’s party, like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (R-Minn.), strongly condemn the Israeli war in Gaza, blaming Israel for the high death toll, not questioning any Hamas stats of Palestinian casualties. Biden finds himself on a political tightrope, between his party’s left wing and the liberal press, represented by the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC, all of which condemn the Israeli-Hamas War. None of the left wing groups question the Hamas terror group Oct. 7, 2023 Israeli massacre, considering it within Palestinian rights of resistance to destroy the State of Israel.
Hamas was formed by radical Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987 to serve as the military wing of Yasser Arafat’s Palestinine Liberation Organization [PLO], now confined to the Ramallah-based West Bank, controlled by 88-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, one of Arafat’s chief lieutenants. Abbas is too old to run the so-called Palestinian Authority [PA], something created after the 1993 Oslo Accords in the wake of more Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. What’s left today is the Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Group Hamas committed to its charter of destroying Israel. While Abbas’s West Bank Palestinian Authority claims it wants a two-state solution with Israel, they have no authority or control over Hamas. U.S. officials know that there is no possible Palestinian peace partner with 88-year-old Abbas in control of the West Bank. Abbas is one step away from being toppled by Hamas.
Biden faces more pressure during an Election Year placating Democrats’ and the press who accept all of Hamas’s fake casualty and death toll stats. No one can question the figures without condemnation in the press. No doubt that a humanitarian crisis exists in Gaza’s 2.1 million population from the Israeli-Hamas War but Hamas shows no signs of negotiating in good faith with Israel or returning what remains of the original group of 250 hostages. Biden said that Netanyahu “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequene of the actions taken,” Biden said, trying to pander to his party’s pressure. Biden knows, without saying it, that the casualty and death toll figures given by Hamas are grossly exaggerated. “It’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden told MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, walking a fine line.
Biden can no longer question the Hamas casualty and death tolls without political blowback, especially with the liberal press that accepts anything Hamas reports. Biden is always pitted by his party’s left wing and liberal press against 74-year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu vowed to eliminate Hamas, something that hasn’t happened in 5 months of war, requiring the IDF to scour the Hamas underground tunnel system that keeps the terror group’s leaders from surrendering. Netanyahu has been warning about a new offensive in Gaza’s southern most zone called Rafah, where some 1.3 Palestinians have sought refuge but where Hamas continues to hang onto power. “It is a real red line,” Biden told Capehart about any Israeli offensive in Rafah. Hamas’s apologists in the U.S. and Mideast want a permanent ceasefire to allow Hamas to survive.
Hoping for a ceasefire before Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, Hamas only pretends to be an Islamic but only if it gets them any financial or military support from Arab governments. Hamas is all about survival, now that they’re under Israeli seize. Biden plays good-cop, bad-cop with the media over Israeli’s current military operations. U.S. officials know they cannot deal with Hamas under any circumstances but know the limitations with Abbas’s West Bank government. Biden plays both sides against the middle, knowing he must continue politically to placate his party’s and media’s left wing, while, at the same time, do what’s right for U.S. national security to support Israeli. Biden’s left wing and liberal press hammer him over his overwhelming support to Israel dealing with its implacable war against Hamas. Biden’s caught between a rock and a hard place.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
