The Biden administration is increasing its pressure on the Israeli government to meet demands regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
If Israel does not meet American demands by November 13, Joe Biden may suspend military assistance to Israel, according to an American official interviewed by Axios.
Although this threat of suspension has been avoided so far, support for this option is growing within the State Department, specifies the official in question.
In October, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presented their Israeli counterparts with an ultimatum, asking Israel to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
According to Axios, Mr. Blinken reiterated these demands during his latest trip to Israel last week. He recalled during a press conference that “sending trucks to Gaza was not enough”; it is essential that resources are effectively distributed.
US diplomats also express concerns over Israeli strikes on residential buildings. A recent bombing in northern Gaza resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians, including children, sparking protests from the State Department.
Criticism has also emerged over a new Israeli law which prohibits the action of the United Nations agency for aid to Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Israeli soil.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is reportedly drafting the official response to Blinken and Austin's letter, which is expected to be delivered after the US presidential election – the results of which are likely to influence the content of the response .
Pressures regarding the West Bank
At the same time, Mr. Blinken and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Israel to extend correspondent banking between Israeli and Palestinian banks in the West Bank for another year, in a joint statement released on Thursday.
The same day, Israeli Finance Minister, far-right figure Bezalel Smotrich, signed a one-month extension of the agreement allowing this correspondence, hours before the agreement was scheduled to expire.
“The United States has made clear that economic stability in the West Bank is essential for Israeli and Palestinian security,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, the very short duration of this extension creates another imminent crisis between now and November 30,” he adds, specifying that this exacerbates “uncertainty for international banks, Israeli companies operating in the West Bank and, above all, for ordinary Palestinians who are most affected by this uncertainty.”
The Palestinian economy relies heavily on banks' relationships with their Israeli counterparts to process transactions made in shekels, as the Palestinian Authority does not have its own currency.
The United States has considered sanctioning Smotrich in the past for his particularly drastic policies against the Palestinians, but has so far refrained from taking this drastic step.
