How Team Biden orchestrated a shorter war in Gaza
--- With lessons learned from earlier Israel-Hamas conflicts, the administration banked on quiet leverage and negotiation to bring a quicker end to hostilities ---
Aides to President Joe Biden — many of whom have worked with Clinton, Kerry or both — knew they couldn’t stop Israel from retaliating when Hamas began firing rockets at Israeli cities on May 10. They decided instead to try to make sure the fighting was as short and with few casualties as possible — in other words, more like 2012 than 2014. That required applying what they and many analysts believe were the lessons learned.
According to three people familiar with the current situation, that playbook included U.S. officials working primarily behind the scenes on the diplomatic front, especially at the start; blocking moves by the U.N. Security Council, including demands for a ceasefire; and relying on other players in the region, in particular Egypt, to do the heavy lifting on truce negotiations.
The next few days could signal whether the strategy succeeds. On Thursday, the Israeli government and Hamas announced they’d agreed to a cease-fire. The fighting is expected to stop at 2 a.m. Israel time Friday. More than 230 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have died in the 11 days of clashes. No one expects the truce to last forever, but it’s a start.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/20/biden-israel-gaza-ceasefire-shorter-war-490017
--- With lessons learned from earlier Israel-Hamas conflicts, the administration banked on quiet leverage and negotiation to bring a quicker end to hostilities ---
Aides to President Joe Biden — many of whom have worked with Clinton, Kerry or both — knew they couldn’t stop Israel from retaliating when Hamas began firing rockets at Israeli cities on May 10. They decided instead to try to make sure the fighting was as short and with few casualties as possible — in other words, more like 2012 than 2014. That required applying what they and many analysts believe were the lessons learned.
According to three people familiar with the current situation, that playbook included U.S. officials working primarily behind the scenes on the diplomatic front, especially at the start; blocking moves by the U.N. Security Council, including demands for a ceasefire; and relying on other players in the region, in particular Egypt, to do the heavy lifting on truce negotiations.
The next few days could signal whether the strategy succeeds. On Thursday, the Israeli government and Hamas announced they’d agreed to a cease-fire. The fighting is expected to stop at 2 a.m. Israel time Friday. More than 230 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have died in the 11 days of clashes. No one expects the truce to last forever, but it’s a start.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/20/biden-israel-gaza-ceasefire-shorter-war-490017