Timeline: How US Presidents Have Defended Israel for Decades | New conflicts

As Palestinian deaths Israel is growing angry over the ongoing bombing of the Gaza Strip by US President Joe Biden’s treatment of the situation.

On the same day as the Israeli airstrikes hil 10 members of a single family and flattened The 11-story building, which houses Al Jazeera and The Associated Press’s media offices and housing apartments, Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel without hesitation.

The White House said on Saturday that US President Benjamin Netanyahu had called on Israeli Prime Minister for the second time since the crisis began and “appeared in favor of Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks against Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.”

Meanwhile calling to de-escalate, Washington has not called for an immediate ceasefire or a word of criticism directed at the Israeli.

Progressive U.S. lawmakers, Palestinian defense groups, and others are expressing despair at Biden’s policy. But Attitude of the US President it is not the only one among the long lines of U.S. presidents who have shown almost unconditional support for Israel in times of conflict.

Here’s how Biden and past U.S. presidents have defended Israel over the decades:

May 2021

He has sent Biden twice statements Reaffirming Israel’s commitment to Israel’s “right to defend itself” against Israel’s ongoing rockets fired from Gaza offensive territory.

Israeli officials say thousands of rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel, killing 10 people so far and at least 188 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded by Israeli airstrikes in the besieged territory.

Top officials in the Biden administration have stressed that they are “in favor of Israel’s right to defend itself” while saying that the US encourages “scaling up”. The U.S. also blocked a statement from the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to the violence.

Today, President Netanyahu spoke with Israeli Prime Minister, who has spoken out in favor of Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks against Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, and condemned these discriminatory attacks against Israel. pic.twitter.com/baHWh1b6Q2

– White House (@WhiteHouse) May 15, 2021

May 2018

Former US President Donald Trump – a staunch defender of Israel and the country’s prime minister Netanyahu – denied trying to criticize Israel in 2018 by killing dozens of protesters in Gaza in May 2018.

Palestinians “The Great March of the Return”The rally was when Israeli forces fired on people. The deadly violence coincided Opening In the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, the Trump administration drew Palestinian anger in a move after moving from Tel Aviv.

“The responsibility for these horrific deaths lies entirely with Hamas. Hamas is deliberately and cynically causing this response, and as the Secretary of State said, Israel has a right to defend itself, ”White House Undersecretary of Press Raj Shah he said at the time.

July-August 2014

Israel carried out a 10-day airstrike on the Gaza Strip in July 2014 before launching a territorial attack on the territory. On July 18, then-US President Barack Obama told reporters he had “confirmed” [his] strong support for Israel’s right to self-defense, ”said Benjamin Netanyahu. “No one would allow rockets to be fired at their borders or terrorists to tunnel into their territory,” Obama said.

“I also made it clear that the United States, and our friends and allies are very concerned about the increased risks and the loss of more innocent lives,” Obama said. According to the UN, more than 1,500 Palestinian civilians, including more than 500 children, were killed in the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

November 2012

There were more than 100 Palestinian civilians hil When Israel started the army offensive in Gaza After November 2012 murder Hammed military commander Ahmed Jabari.

Obama again defend Israel’s actions: “There is no country on earth that will suffer from missiles that throw rain at its citizens. So we fully defend Israel’s right to defend itself from missiles landing in its homes.”

December 2008-January 2009

The Israeli attack on Gaza, called Operation Lost Lead, began on December 27, 2008. When it was declared 22 days later, the Israelis killed about 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and destroyed a large part of the territory. on the ground, Amnesty International he says.

On January 2, then, US President George W Bush – who had been in the White House in his last weeks – laid the sole blame for the situation in Hamas. “This latest outbreak of violence was fueled by Hamas – a Palestinian terrorist group backed by Iran and Syria is demanding the destruction of Israel,” Bush said. reported made by NBC News at the time. He also said that the “ceasefire that causes rocket attacks against Israel” is “not acceptable.”

2000-2005

Israeli politician Ariel Sharon’s visit to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque in September 2000 sparked Palestinian protests and clashes that left seven Palestinians dead with Israeli security forces. The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was launched.

Two Palestinian armed groups – which began spreading suicide bombings – and Israel were accused of killing war crimes and killing civilians indiscriminately during the uprising. Israel launched airstrikes and raids on Gaza and the West Bank. At least 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed in the fighting.

The newly elected President George W Bush did not approve of the first Israeli operations, but was closely associated with Sharon as a result of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent “War on Terror”. The alliance was seen as providing a broad path for Israel to take military action, while blaming the Palestinians for the excessive amount of violence. Bush also admitted that Sharon had not denied with Palestinian President Yasir Arafat.

In a 2002 speech, Bush was the first U.S. president to publicly support the Palestinian state, but said that support would condition a complete overhaul of his leadership, institutions, and security agreements. “Today, the Palestinian Authority is pushing for terrorism, not opposing it,” he said he said. “This is unacceptable. And the United States will not help establish a Palestinian state until the leaders wage a lasting fight against terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure. “

US President George W Bush, right, with his vice president, Dick Cheney [File: Stan Honda/AFP]

1996

U.S. President Bill Clinton defended Israel after his army launched an attack on the UN company in Qanan, southern Lebanon, where hundreds of civilians were held in the shelter in April 1996. The bombing killed more than 100 civilians and injured hundreds more.

Israel has said the attack was wrong, but a report The UN Security Council said that “although the possibility cannot be completely ruled out, the impact model in the Qana area is unlikely to result in technical and / or procedural errors in the explosion of the United Nations compound.”

Ten days after the massacre, Clinton addressed the Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in a speech to the pro-Israel lobby group. he said The Lebanese children of Qana “were caught – make no mistake in that – a tragic mistake in locating and firing Hezbollah’s forced tactics and in exercising Israel’s right to self-defense.”

1987-1991

A series of protests, strikes and boycotts defined the First Intifada, and Israeli security forces criticized the use of direct fire against Palestinians due to disproportionate repression.

The uprising erupted when U.S. President Ronald Reagan began strengthening Israel’s role as a “special strategic asset,” making it easier for Israel to gain support and give the country special access to U.S. military technology. Although generally opposed to criticizing Israel, in 1987 the Reagan administration condemned Israeli security forces for “excessive use of harsh security measures and live ammunition.”

His successor, George HW Bush, took a fairly firm stance with Israel, pushing for a delay in loan guarantees in order to build occupied settlements in the West Bank and participate in the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference.

1982an

Reagan admitted that Israel had not issued a warning in June 1982 when the military invaded southern Lebanon amid cross-border fighting. When asked if the U.S. did not condemn the action or sell arms to Israel, Reagan told reporters, “The situation is very complicated and the goals we want to pursue are what are driving our behavior.”

However, he denied that Israel had given the “green light” to the invasion, “they caught us as surprised as anyone, and we wanted a diplomatic solution and we think it could be.”

1973an

In October 1973, several Arab nations led by Egypt and Syria launched a military offensive in an attempt to recapture and occupy the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights, which Israel had captured and continued to occupy during the 1967 war.

After a failed counterattack, the U.S. began launching weapons into Israel, with U.S. President Richard Nixon credited with then-transferring Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Nixon told Congress that Congress was significant in its fight against the Cold War, which was reversing the conflict with the Soviet Union that protected Arab countries.

1967an

In June 1967, Israel launched an air strike on Egypt, which led to the so-called Six Day War. Because the conflict also affected Jordan and Syria, Israel took over large tracts of land, including the West Bank and Gaza and the Syrian Golan Heights.

Lyndon B Johnson President of the United States he told her In a 1971 New York Times article, “I can understand that men can decide to act on their own when enemy forces gather at their borders and cut off a major port, and antagonistic political leaders fill the air with threats to destroy their nation.”

“However, I have never hidden the remorse that Israel decided to move in its time. I always made it clear, however, to the Russians and all other nations that I did not accept the simplified charge of Israeli attacks. The Arab actions in the weeks leading up to the war — forcing UN troops out, closing the port of Aqaba, and gathering forces on the Israeli border — made it ridiculous. ”

1948an

On May 14, 1948, the head of the Jewish Agency proclaimed the creation of an independent state of Israel when the British colonial rule over the territory ended. US President Harry S Truman immediately recognized the new sovereign nation.

“This government has been informed that a Jewish state has been proclaimed in Palestine, and the interim government has asked for recognition.” read Statement signed by Truman. “The United States recognizes the interim government as the de facto authority of the new state of Israel.”