I have been somewhat supportive of Israel's right to defend itself and have understood that this would entail some suffering among the Palestinians generally. The first wave of the conflict was always going to be brutal and fall heavily on innocents. C'est la guerre.
However, I also understood Biden's embrace of the Israeli government as a combination of strategic - Israel is perhaps our best ally in the region - and tactical. If he ever wanted to break with Netanyahu, he would have to make clear his support for Israel.
As Marshall points out, Netanyahu openly allied himself with the GOP during Obama's presidency and Trump's regency. If Biden were now to say, simply, "The United States cannot continue to support Israel as long as Netanyahu is prime minister" that might break open a logjam in Israeli politics and provide Biden with more political cover at home. There's little doubt that his approval ratings with young voters has been pummeled by supporting America's traditional ally in its conduct of terrible things. This would not be abandoning Israel - we would still strike Houthi rebels firing missiles on behalf of Iran - but rather abandoning an odious man who has committed horrible deeds.
There is no possible "Day After" for the Gazan War with Netanyahu calling the shots in Israel. If we can make his government toxic within Israel, maybe we can find a way forward, instead of sinking further down into a morass of atavistic hatred.
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