Hamas Approves of Biden’s New Gaza Aid Plan. Is It a Good Idea?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
During his State of the Union Address, President Biden announced the U.S. will construct a temporary pier in Gaza that will allow aid to flow to Palestinians. Some voices on the left and right highlighted similar concerns.
Hamas Approves: Newsweek (Center bias) spoke with Hamas spokesperson Bassem Naim who approved of the Biden administration’s new Gazan aid plan, but condemned its role in the conflict at large. "Regarding the waterway, it is a positive step," said Naim, adding, “We consider the United States of America to be a direct partner in the war against our people.”
Israel’s Role: Zvi Bar’el, in an analysis for Haaretz (Lean Left bias), concluded the pier’s construction will “neutralize Israel's policy of turning humanitarian aid into a strategic pressure lever on Hamas” and by taking charge of the humanitarian side of the war, the U.S. is “shattering Israel's strategic doctrine.” Bar’el added, however, that “America has no orderly plan” for aid distribution yet, which could end up being the job of Israeli soldiers, and end up turning the IDF into an occupying “police force.”
American Troop Involvement: Luther Ray Abel of National Review (Right bias) wrote that the pier construction means U.S. aid measures are “no longer done at arm’s length” and could endanger U.S. service members despite Biden’s previous promises of “no American boots on the ground.” Abel argued that “Biden is terrified of the pro-Palestinian elements in his party and… is creating a situation whereby the U.S. taxpayers are almost certain to aid Hamas.”
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From the Center
Hamas Sees Biden's Gaza Aid Plan as 'Positive Step'
A senior Hamas official has shared with Newsweek the Palestinian movement's response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, offering rare approval of a newly announced U.S. plan to provide aid to Gaza while overall condemning Washington's approach to the group's ongoing war with Israel.
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President Biden, during his State of the Union address, announced an effort to create an aid corridor to Gaza that will include a U.S.–constructed pier for shipments of food and other supplies to reach Palestinians. This “temporary” construction would be a significant expansion of the Biden administration’s aid measures and no longer done at arm’s length, whatever promises of “no American boots on the ground” the president might make. As with all else, there are only tradeoffs. In this case, it’s almost all bad. The president’s design will create a...
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