Jake Sullivan rejects reporting of U.S. and Israel's supposed rift: 'More heat than light' (2024)

Germany's ambassador to Israel has slammed the looting of Gaza-bound aid trucks by right-wing Israeli activists. Writing on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Steffen Seibert described the actions of the activists as "disgraceful," adding that such behavior "certainly won't help the Israeli cause of freeing the hostages and securing the country against the terror of Hamas."

The Biden administration does not see it likely or possible that Israel will achieve "total victory" in defeating Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Monday.

"In some respects, we are struggling over what the theory of victory is," Campbell said at a NATO Youth Summit in Miami. "Sometimes when we listen closely to Israeli leaders, they talk about mostly the idea of....a sweeping victory on the battlefield, total victory," he said.

"I don't think we believe that that is likely or possible and that this looks a lot like situations that we found ourselves in after 9/11, where, after civilian populations had been moved and lots of violence that...the insurrections continue."

Likening the situation in Gaza to that of a recurring insurgency that the United States faced in Afghanistan and Iraq after its invasions there following the Sept. 11 attacks, Campbell said a political solution was required.

"I think we view that there has to be more of a political solution...What's different from the past in that sense, many countries want to move towards a political solution in which the rights of Palestinians are more respected," he said.

"I don't think it's ever been more difficult than right now," he added.

A truck intended to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip was set on fire near the Negohot settlement in the Hebron Hills of the West Bank. The truck was part of a convoy that was blocked and looted by right-wing protesters against the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Firefighters arrived at the scene and the police started an investigation.

A senior defense official told Haaretz that "police are turning a blind eye to the riots of lawbreakers who vandalize and burn the aid trucks, using inside information they receive about the movement of trucks."

Earlier Monday, close to 100 people blocked an aid convoy, emptied trucks of their contents and damaged nine of them. Four people were arrested in the incident.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan sharply rejected recent reporting over a supposed rift between the U.S. and Israel amid Joe Biden's decision to pause a single shipment of heavy payload bombs due to concerns over its usage in Rafah.

"There's been a lot more heat than light in the recent coverage and commentary about the war between Israel and Hamas," he said, before detailing U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via 10 bullet points spanning from October 7 and hostage talks to the Gaza humanitarian crisis and civilian harm.

"No president has stood stronger with Israel than Joe Biden. He was the first president to visit Israel during wartime, he's protecting Israel at the untied nations, he mobilized a coalition to directly defend Israel against an unprecedented Iranian attack, he led the bipartisan effort to pass a supplemental ensuring Israel's defense and military edge for years to come. His commitment to Israel is ironclad. Ironclad doesn't mean you never disagree, it means you work through your disagreements as true friends do," Sullivan said at the daily press briefing.

Sullivan further noted the next in-person between U.S. and Israeli officials concerning Rafah would happen in a matter of days, rather than weeks, adding that hostage talks are still ongoing.

"Negotiations are a thousand days of failure and one day of success. Right now we're in the former days rather than the latter day," he noted

A Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, later said that Erdogan had meant to refer to Palestinians from Hamas-run Gaza in general, rather than Hamas members.

"President Erdogan misspoke, he meant 1,000 Gazans are under treatment, not Hamas members," a Turkish official said.

The growing rift between Israel and Egypt broke out into the open over the weekend, now threatening its bilateral relationship. To remove any doubts about it, please note these revelations were not made via "intended leaks" or background commentary.

The news of Egypt's refusal to coordinate the introduction of humanitarian aid with Israel through the Rafah crossing was reported by the Al-Qahera news channel, which is owned by the Egyptian intelligence. Though for several days it was kept a secret, in order to avoid a deterioration in relations that might put the Camp David accords at risk, it is not Egypt's official public position.

Cairo's anger comes as no surprise to Washington and should have not surprised Israel. For weeks, Cairo issued warnings in which it demanded firmly, mainly from Washington, that it stop Israel from invading Rafah and taking control of the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

The Egyptian concern about the breach of the border by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza is also not new. Egypt had expressed its concerns from the earliest days of the Gaza war, and nevertheless continued to cooperate with Israel in delivering humanitarian aid. Unlike Jordan and Turkey, Egypt did not recall its ambassador to Tel Aviv.

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