Joe Biden's joined-at-the-hip unapologetic devotion to the state of Israel is well known, but the reasons for it are very likely not the ones he gives. What Biden and all previous administrations have in common - even those occasionally mildly critical of Israel - is their primary commitment to the preservation and extension of US power. Israel's linchpin status in the Middle East as an outpost of US power was summarized by Al Haig's quip that Israel is the largest American aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk (Alexander Haig - Wikiquote). The critical role of Israel to the US empire requires that certain myths be perpetuated. The primary one is the stated goal of a "two-state solution" as the "path to peace".
The two-state solution of course has long been made impossible due to Israel's continuous settlement expansion on Palestinian land. But mouthing this mantra allows the US to maintain its Israeli military outpost in the region as it allows Israel to pursue ethnic cleansing while both kick the can of Palestinian rights further down the road. If and when usual Palestinian non-violent resistance explodes into violence it is met with overwhelming force with US-made weapons. The current episode is just the latest in this long cycle of death and violence. The only really viable path to peace would be the establishment of a single secular state based on equal individual rights for all Palestinians and Jews.
If Biden and Blinken really want two states it will be up to them to stop the endless flow of US weapons and money to Israel, force the dismantling of settlements, and end the occupation of all Palestinian land. The first step must be a call for an immediate ceasefire, which they have repeatedly rejected. State Department officer Josh Paul recently resigned in response to Biden/Blinken policy, which he described as "an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia" (Josh Paul: State Department official resigns over Biden administration's handling of Israel-Hamas conflict | CNN Politics).
Can it be that there is but one honest courageous government official in Washington?
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