Gaza: Ceasefire Calls Amid Growing Israeli Aggression, Global Superpowers Not Willing to Intervene

Israeli aggression continues amid failed attempts aimed at halting soaring violence in Gaza. Leaders of Egypt, Jordan, and France held a trilateral meeting, on Monday, to discuss the situation in Gaza. Nevertheless, it seems the U.S. is not willing to directly intervene in the negotiations.

Indeed, the U.S. is not a reliable mediator in the “asymmetric” conflict between the Palestinians and the occupying power. While President Joe Biden vowed a bold agenda to promote human rights around the world, he is not willing to condemn Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Biden is facing growing pressure from the progressive wing in the Democratic Party to act immediately to stop Israeli aggression.

Yet, President Biden and his team prefer a quieter approach; relying on U.S allies in the Arab world to halt tensions between the Palestinians and the occupying power.

“Our calculation at this point is that having those conversations behind the scenes … is the most constructive approach we can take,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

Indeed, Egypt aims- through its mediating efforts- to bolster its regional role, signaling a message that Cairo is the regional actor in the prolonged conflict, not Abu Dhabi.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al- Sisi met with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron Yesterday to discuss the escalating violence in Gaza, Egyptian Streets says.

Al-Sisi stressed that a ceasefire should be reached, and the international community should pressure Israel into a just deal that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people.

Egyptian Ambassador to Ramallah met on Sunday with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ashteya, delivering a solidarity message with innocent Palestinians amid Israeli aggression.

The Egyptian Ambassador asserted that Egypt is working with regional and international actors to halt Israeli provocative actions in Gaza, and to inhibit the reoccurrence of confrontations in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem

Earlier this week, Egypt’s Foreign Minister said that Egypt is leading regional efforts to secure a ceasefire. “The talks have taken a real and serious path on Friday,” a Palestinian official said. “The mediators from Egypt, Qatar,  and the United Nations are stepping up their contacts with all sides in a bid to restore calm, but a deal hasn’t yet been reached.”

On the international level, German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the current situation with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, German officials say. “Both agreed that initiatives for a swift ceasefire should be supported in order to create the conditions for the resumption of political negotiations,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Nonetheless, Israel is more likely to reject any peace proposal unless the U.S. chooses to act. Barbara Blett Usher, BBC state department correspondent, stated that the Arab-Israeli conflict gives the new American administration foreign policy headache, adding that Biden’s priorities lie elsewhere, namely, Chinese and Iranian files.

Theoretically, Biden supports the two-state solution; practically he has not expressed enough interest to reach this end goal. Without U.S. condemnation, Israel is less likely to halt its aggression on Gaza, given that the ongoing violence stands to benefit Prime Minister Netanyahu to stay in power longer.