Escalation with Hezbollah is possible.. Azmi Bishara: Biden thought that Israel would not let him down, but it did

The Director General of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Azmi Bishara, summarized the continued evasion of the Israeli Prime Minister from the plan that US President Joe Biden spoke about early last June, by saying that Biden thought that Israel would not let him down, but it did.

He expressed his belief that the American President could put more pressure on Israel, but he does not want to. He also ruled out that anything fundamental would happen in the Rome talks tomorrow, Sunday (between officials from Qatar, America, Egypt, and Israel regarding a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of Palestinian and Israeli prisoners). .

He reiterated his conviction that there is no alternative to Palestinian unity within the framework of the Liberation Organization to confront what the Palestinian issue is being exposed to and what awaits it in the future. In this context, he ruled out that the Beijing Declaration would lead to true Palestinian unity.

Regarding the US presidential elections, Bishara believed that Netanyahu prefers Republican candidate Donald Trump because he knows that the US Democratic Party has already changed, stressing that between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Trump, there is a difference even with regard to the Palestinian issue, even if they are “bitter and bitter.”

Regarding the escalation on the northern front between Israel and Hezbollah, according to Bishara, it occurred before and after the Majdal Shams incident, but he insisted on ruling out a comprehensive war because the two sides found an equation that is raising the rules of engagement, meaning that escalation is met with escalation. As for the Houthis, “it is difficult to predict how things will develop,” as he put it.

Rome talks

In an interview with Al-Arabi TV on Saturday evening from the city of Lusail in the State of Qatar, Bishara suggested that there will be new details presented in the Rome talks today, but without prejudice to the rule proven by experience, which is that Netanyahu’s approach is based on procrastination and procrastination until he is forced to stop firing. The fire is for a short period only in the first phase of the agreement, not in the three phases, and the Rafah crossing remains under Israeli control, and the veto on the release of 100 Palestinian prisoners is not waived, and the number of Israeli hostages released each week increases from three to five, and these are He imposed his four conditions on July 7, 5 weeks after Biden presented what he said was an Israeli plan.

Bishara recalled that Netanyahu did not agree once to Biden’s announcement, because in his opinion, he believed that Israel would not let him down if he himself announced a detailed plan to end the war, but it actually let him down. Letdown may explain the Israeli leaks that spoke of Biden being cold when receiving Netanyahu last Thursday at the White House, and his insistence on a ceasefire (Harris also spoke more clearly about stopping the war).

But Bishara stressed that Biden can put more pressure on Netanyahu, “but he does not want to go down in history as someone who caused a rift in relations with Israel, and the pillars of his administration are worse than him on this issue.”

Regarding what might be raised in the Rome talks, Bishara indicated that he would not go beyond details such as reducing the number of Palestinian prisoners whose release Netanyahu has vetoed, which are insufficient margins for the resistance, as Bishara put it.

But there is a showy aspect in the scene that makes what is important not what you say, but rather that you speak forcefully and show off as if you are in a verbal wrestling match, and the expression is by Bishara, who concluded that “the stupid and ignorant triumph over the wisest” under these circumstances, describing in the same context the Republican Party conference as “a circus.” "While the situation will be different at the Democratic Party convention scheduled for next month in Chicago.

Regarding Harris’ eligibility to compete with Trump, Bishara believed that her chances of winning are already there, even though if there had been a competition between the Democratic Party candidates a year ago, for example, Harris might not have been the party’s nominee, but the short period that separates us from the election date made her gain party support quickly, explaining that It has many strengths, such as its preference by young women and people of color, although it has a problem that it will not be able to solve without Biden’s help, which is white workers, who are the decisive factor in the five swing states.

Between Trump and Harris... there is a difference

In his answer to the difference between Harris and Trump with regard to issues in the Middle East, and the Palestinian issue in particular, Bishara asserted that there is indeed a difference between them, even if they are both bitter and bitter.

In his answer, he quickly recalled the extent of the damage that Trump caused during his presidential term to the Palestinian issue, in terms of the so-called “deal of the century” or the plan to liquidate the Palestinian issue and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel... Bishara added that “we have a problem as Arabs, which is that we always look at the factor “Because we do not have real country projects,” he explained, explaining that “America will not be with a party that is not with itself.”

He explained his idea that there are Arab countries that accept American dictates as they are and do not try to be an ally or a follower. For these reasons and in view of the internal Palestinian situation, there is a difference between Trump and Harris in light of what Trump did during his term, and that he tried to tell the world that it is possible to marginalize Palestine and achieve Arab normalization. The Israelis are isolated from solving the Palestinian issue. He concluded in this context by saying, "If the Palestinian people do not unite and show that normalization without resolving the Palestinian issue is impossible, the plan will pass."

(The New Arab)