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White House defends diplomacy over Israel-Gaza crisis
The Biden administration says it wants to deescalate or tamp down violence between Israel and Gaza to save lives, but the White House is resisting calls to demand a ceasefire in a conflict that has cost at least 200 lives.
The Biden administration says it wants to deescalate or tamp down violence between Israel and Gaza to save lives, but the White House is resisting calls to demand a ceasefire in a conflict that has cost at least 200 lives.
Pressed on why President Joe Biden and other top officials aren’t publicly calling for a ceasefire, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that “every statement we make is with the objective of reducing the violence and bringing an end to the conflict on the ground.”
“There are times in diplomacy where we’ll need to keep those conversations quieter, where we won’t read out every component of it,” Psaki told reporters. “But that is our objective and that is the prism through which every action and every comment is being made.”
Psaki said she wasn’t sure if Biden had seen the latest statement by a group of Senate Democrats calling on him to seek a ceasefire. She emphasized dozens of calls made by the president and top officials seeking to resolve the crisis, and said Biden was aware of the views held by members of Congress.
A statement signed by 29 Senate Democrats on Sunday said they want Biden to do more.
“To prevent any further loss of civilian life and to prevent further escalation of conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories, we urge an immediate ceasefire,” according to the statement, signed by senators including Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mark Warner of Virginia.
That followed demands from a dozen Jewish Democrats in the House on Friday asking the administration to address Israel’s “deepening occupation” in Jerusalem. There have been other, more widespread calls for action from the left flank of the party, which increasingly links Israeli policies toward the Palestinians to calls for racial justice at home.
“If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to?,” tweeted Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Psaki wouldn’t say whether Biden feels that Israel’s actions in the conflict have gone too far.
“It’s been seven days” since the latest flare-up started, Psaki said, adding that previous conflicts have lasted longer and that the US wants to see the violence wind down as fast as possible.
