Amelia Cutting
US President Joe Biden has expressed his support for a ceasefire between the Israel and Hamas conflict that has seen over two hundred dead.
This is not a request for an immediate ceasefire, however: a decision which has come under increased criticism.
This decision has caused outrage amongst Democrats, especially with a report approving the sale of 35 million dollars-worth of bombs to Israel.
“He welcomed efforts to address intercommunal violence”
The US provides Israel with £3.8 billion a year of military aid, equivalent to around 20% of Israel’s defense budget.
The President reiterated his firm support for Israel’s “right to defend itself against the attacks.”
He welcomed efforts to address intercommunal violence and to bring peace to Jerusalem.
He has also encouraged “Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians,” the White House added.
A History of Conflict
The conflict between Israel and Palestine began in mid-April when Palestinian public gatherings were clamped down on by the Israeli police.
Israel imposed a 10,000 person limit on gatherings for prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque – the third most holy site in Islam.
This was exacerbated by the preparation by the Israeli Supreme Court to issue a ruling evicting Palestinian settlers from their homes in Sheikh-Jamah; a neighbourhood with land and property claimed by Jewish settler groups.
The Israeli police killed hundreds of Palestinians when they stormed Al-Aqsa, using stun grenades and CS gas.
Hamas, a group which has run the Gaza strip since 2006, then fired rockets towards Jerusalem in retaliation, triggering the Israeli assault on the Gaza strip.
Since then, around 3,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel by Hamas.
Arabic for Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, aims to liberate Palestine from the Israeli occupation.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared a state of emergency in Lod, a city near Tel Aviv: “I conduct situation assessments and we make decisions,” he said.
“We will continue as long as necessary to restore peace to all Israeli citizens.”
On Tuesday, a number of protestors in the Ramallah district of the West Bank fired at the Israeli troops, demonstrating the unrest that has spread outside of Gaza.
On Thursday evening (20 May) a ceasefire was announced, effective in the next day or two.
Effects of Conflict
Biden has told the Israeli Prime Minister that he expects there to be a ‘significant de-escalation’ in the conflict that has raged for 11 days now and claimed around 230 lives in Gaza and 12 in Israel.
16,800 housing units have been damaged, 1,800 unfit for living in, and 1,000 destroyed completely.
The economic cost of the first three days of fighting alone came to around $166 million according to Israel’s manufacturers association.
Israel’s security cabinet claims the truce was proposed by Egypt and would be ‘mutual and unconditional’, coming into force at 02.00 local time on Friday morning (11pm Thursday evening GMT).
Despite the ceasefire deal being confirmed by Israel, it’s military said that warning sirens were sounding in the country’s south, suggesting another attack.
Biden has praised the Israeli PM for ‘bringing the hostilities to a close’ and re-emphasised the USA’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups.
Featured image courtesy of hosny salah on Pixabay. No changes were made to this image. Image license can be found here.
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