Reactions to the crisis in the Middle East: Biden's support for Israel and silence at the UN

The United States has expressed its “unwavering” support for Israel, while the UN Security Council is silent on the bombings between the Israeli Army and Gazan Palestinian militias, a conflict that entered its fourth day today and affects Gaza, the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, and has spread into Israel itself where there have been clashes between the Israeli and Israeli Arab communities.

“We are moving towards a full-scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take responsibility for a de-escalation,” the UN envoy for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, warned on Wednesday, with neither party showing restraint so far.. Israeli bombardments have already caused 67 deaths, including 17 children and 6 women, in Gaza, while the rockets launched by Palestinian militias from that Palestinian territory have caused seven deaths, including a six-year-old child, in Israel. In addition, 388 Palestinian civilians were also injured, including 115 minors, the enclave's Ministry of Health specified today..

According to Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus, since Monday at least 25 militants “of various ranks and seniority, belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad” have been killed in targeted attacks.. Groups of Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel have joined the conflict, where two lynchings took place, one in Bat Yam and the other in Acre; in them an Arab citizen and another Jew would be in serious condition. Regarding these incidents, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Nothing justifies the lynching of Jews by Arabs and nothing justifies the lynching of Arabs by Jews”, while the Israeli president described the incidents as “a civil war without reason”, and called on local and religious authorities to intervene to stop the violence.

The US stops the Security Council

US President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to whom he conveyed his “unwavering” support for Israel's security, and expressed support “for Israel's right to defend itself and its people, while protecting civilians,” according to a White House statement.

Biden's support was joined by the head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, who on Wednesday condemned the launch of rockets at Israel from Gaza in a call with Palestinian President Abu Mazem, and stressed “the need to de-escalate tensions and end the ongoing violence,” the State Department reported.

In addition, the United States on Wednesday stopped a possible declaration by the UN Security Council in response to the clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, which were discussed urgently and behind closed doors by the 15 members of this body.. According to diplomatic sources, Washington opposed a proposal presented by other countries, considering that it would not be useful to reduce tension.. This despite the fact that some Member States have publicly urged a consensual response, as did Ireland, which defended that the highest decision-making body of the UN must condemn the violence against civilians committed by all parties and demand an immediate ceasefire, or China, which defended the importance of the Council speaking “with one voice”.

The EU: “unacceptable” number of victims

In the absence of an agreement, the countries of the European Union (EU) that currently sit on the Council (France, Estonia and Ireland), together with Norway, issued a statement on their own in which they condemned the attacks against Israeli towns launched from Gaza and also considered “unacceptable” the high numbers of civilian casualties, including children, in Israel's attacks.

The European nations also showed their concern about the possible eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, which was at the origin of the escalation of tension, and demanded that Israel cease settlement, demolition and eviction activities in the occupied territories.. On the Arab side, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shukri, called on Wednesday his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, asking him to stop “all Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian territories” and seek a diplomatic solution to resume the process of peace, in a brief statement.