The Biden administration is pressing Israel to restore telecommunications access to Gaza amid a massive blackout that has stretched a record six days and left millions of Palestinians without power or internet.
Administration officials fear the blackout will make it difficult for anyone to know what is happening between Hamas and the Israeli military as the war in Gaza continues, potentially worsening an already dire humanitarian situation. The U.S. has “been in touch with the government of Israel over this blackout and have urged them to turn telecoms back on,” said a U.S. official at the White House, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions.
Sometimes I wonder: Could a president forcefully standup to Israel and live out a term? I seriously feel that between the insane volume of lobbying by AIPAC and the implication of having caused such a rift in the political paradigm that no politician would ever dare be as firm as I’d hope they would.
And the GOP alternative will say to Netanyahu:
I’m not being an apologist. I just have become really sad about all this. Feeling pretty hopeless since this all started. Not that the feeling is new, just really turned up.