Biden to Make Surprise Visit to Israel on the 18th

Tony Blinken U.S. Secretary of State Announcement

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel in person on the 18th (local time). As Israel's ground troop deployment in the Gaza Strip enters the final countdown, President Biden is expected to reaffirm support for Israel while urging restraint to prevent escalation. There are forecasts that the message delivered by President Biden could become a variable in the future Middle East situation and the potential escalation of conflict.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on the 16th (local time) that after revisiting Israel and holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Biden will visit Israel on the 18th.

He explained the purpose of the visit, saying, "President Biden will make it clear that Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens from the Palestinian armed group Hamas." He also mentioned that they agreed on providing relief supplies to civilians in the Gaza Strip.

President Biden is expected to visit the Middle East to reaffirm a firm policy of support and assistance to Israel while expressing concerns about the deployment of ground troops in the Gaza Strip. He is also likely to urge neighboring Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, to prevent further escalation. In an interview with CBS the previous day, he stated, "Hamas must be completely eliminated," but also said, "Israel's reoccupation of the Gaza Strip would be a big mistake."

It is unusual for a U.S. president to visit a battlefield directly immediately after the outbreak of war in another country. This visit is analyzed as reflecting the urgency to prevent the Israel-Hamas armed conflict from spreading throughout the Middle East, including Iran and Lebanon.

There is also a view that President Biden's visit allows the U.S. to buy time to delay Israel's attack. By having Israel discuss its Gaza Strip invasion plans with the U.S., the timing of the ground troop deployment in Gaza can be postponed, allowing residents time to evacuate. The NYT reported that President Biden's visit to Israel may have been arranged on the condition of delaying the ground troop deployment in the Gaza Strip.

This announcement came ten days after Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on the 7th. The visit was promptly arranged following Prime Minister Netanyahu's proposal for President Biden's visit last weekend. U.S. media have analyzed that this visit could pose political and personal security risks for President Biden.

Kerstin Fontenrose, a security analyst at the U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, emphasized, "Biden must look Netanyahu straight in the eye and make sure he understands that America's global reputation is at stake and that the occupation of Gaza will drag both the U.S. and Israel into a prolonged armed conflict."

The NYT analyzed, "At such a critical moment, the president's visit to Israel will be an enormous challenge for the White House in all aspects of politics and security."

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