As the curtain falls on Joe Biden’s presidency, he has chosen to squander a final opportunity to end Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and save countless Palestinian lives. By refusing to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory, Biden has sealed his legacy as a callous enabler of Israel’s crimes, even when freed from political constraints in his last days in office.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration quietly let pass its own deadline for Israel to increase the trickle of aid it permits into Gaza. In an October letter, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had given Israel 30 days to take “concrete measures” to ensure civilians in northern Gaza could access basic necessities like food and medicine, warning that US military support could be suspended otherwise. But as the ultimatum expired, aid inflows had plummeted to an 11-month low.
Faced with Israel’s intransigence, Biden did what he has done for over a year – capitulated and kept the weapons flowing to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, turning a blind eye to the devastation and famine Israel has inflicted on Gaza’s 2.1 million inhabitants. Washington meekly informed the world it would impose no consequences on its ally, even though US law requires halting arms to a country blocking humanitarian aid in a war zone.
A Legacy of Enabling Israel’s War Crimes
This week’s inaction is merely the latest in a long line of decisions proving Biden’s disregard for Palestinian lives. But it is especially egregious because the president is now politically unshackled, with the election over and no need to fear repercussions or manage a transition. If ever there was a time for Biden to leverage US power to save Palestinians, this was it. Yet he still failed to make the moral choice and help stop the Gaza war before departing office.
By opting to continue arming Israel, Biden reinforces his primary role in enabling the Gaza slaughter, which has killed over 43,000 Palestinians – and possibly up to 186,000 when accounting for indirect casualties from famine, cholera, and the collapse of Gaza’s health system, according to an estimate in the Lancet medical journal. After more than a year of relentless Israeli bombardment, nearly all Gazans have been displaced at least once.
Contradicting US Assurances
Days after Biden’s decision to keep the weapons flowing, Human Rights Watch issued a scathing 154-page report that contradicted US and Israeli claims that Israel is not violating international law. Documenting forced displacement, unlawful strikes on civilians, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war, the report concluded Israel is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza since October 2023. It called on Western governments to sanction Israel and halt arms shipments.
Squandered Leverage and Policy Tools
The Biden administration did not have to become so deeply complicit in Israel’s war crimes. It had the leverage and legal mechanisms to restrain Israel, end the war, and save Palestinian lives. In February, facing Congressional pressure, Biden issued a memo requiring the State Department to certify that recipients of US weapons abide by international law and allow aid into conflict zones. The US can suspend arms transfers if these conditions are violated, as Israel has clearly done in Gaza.
But rather than enforce US law to push Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire, Biden enabled the slaughter. A State Department report full of bureaucratic double-speak avoided concluding Israel had obstructed aid or broken international law using US weapons, dodging findings that would have mandated suspending arms sales under Biden’s own policies.
Unrestrained Yet Unmoved
While Biden may have feared political fallout for confronting Israel before the election, no such constraints existed this week. Unbound by electoral concerns, Biden enjoyed a rare moment of total freedom to act on conscience. He could have made the right, moral choice to stop being complicit in Palestinian suffering. Instead, he confirmed a devastating truth – that to him, Palestinian lives simply do not matter. And so Biden’s legacy is sealed: as a president who, until his final days, quashed a crucial chance to end Israel’s war on Gaza and save thousands of innocent lives.
