Washington, D.C. – Rock solid. Unwavering. Unwavering. After months of passionately describing his commitment to Israel, the President of the United States said Joe Biden changed his rhetoric this month – and expressed his harshest criticism of the country since the war in Gaza began.

At a fundraiser on December 12, Biden warned that Israel would be targeted because of its “indiscriminate bombing” in the Palestinian territory.

These two words made hundreds of headlines. The “disagreements” between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have finally “been made public,” wrote CNN. The Washington Post signaled that the two leaders were heading for a “collision.”

But Palestinian rights advocates have questioned how wide the “gap” is — or whether Biden’s words were simply a way to defuse criticism without taking substantive action.

Biden has come under intense scrutiny for his support of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 100,000 people 20,000 Palestinians since October 7th. And the United States remains one of the last countries in the world to oppose ending the war.

However, the president’s statement on December 12 did not signal a change of course. Rather, his administration has reiterated that it will not draw “red lines” to limit Israel’s actions or the use of U.S. military aid.

Some advocates therefore argue that the reported disagreements between Biden and Netanyahu are inconsequential as long as the US continues to support Israel.

“It doesn’t matter whether Biden and Bibi [Netanyahu] Whether we like each other or not, at the end of the day, American money is still being transferred to finance the Israeli army. Weapons are still being shipped with or without congressional approval,” said Laura Albast, a Palestinian-American organizer in the Washington, D.C. area. “Biden hasn’t come out and called for a ceasefire.”

Advocates denounce political “theater.”

Albast said the Biden administration occasionally criticizes Israel to reflect growing domestic concerns about atrocities in Gaza. She pointed out that Biden’s popularity in the United States fell sharply during the war, especially among young people.

A Monmouth University poll this week showed Biden’s approval rating at a record low of 34 percent. Among voters under 34, that number fell to 23 percent.

“They think that average voters in the United States are not critical thinkers, so they put together this theater,” Albast said.

Hours after Biden made his comments about Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza, the US voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for it for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Days earlier, Washington had also vetoed it similar measure in the UN Security Council.

Still, U.S. officials have repeatedly said they raise concerns with their Israeli counterparts about civilian damage in Gaza.

“It is clear that the conflict will and must transition to a phase of lower intensity, and we expect and want to see a shift toward more targeted operations,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, the bombings appear to be increasing despite Washington’s demands. More than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed since fighting resumed on December 1 following a brief ceasefire.

An Israeli airstrike hit an area near the Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, while Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud was live on air. pic.twitter.com/LKszfK4pQK

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 20, 2023

Amer Zahr, a Palestinian-American comedian and activist, said Biden is trying to avoid responsibility for the carnage in Gaza even as his administration seeks billions of dollars in additional aid to Israel. He called reports of a feud between Biden and Netanyahu a “distraction.”

“This is an attempt by the Biden administration to distance itself from Netanyahu’s genocidal policies, which it has supported from the beginning,” Zahr told Al Jazeera.

“Foreign Policy Clown Show”

Adam Shapiro, the Israel-Palestine advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said the Biden administration has been fully committed to Israel’s war in Gaza since its early days.

But as the “terrible” reality of the Israeli offensive As the situation becomes more apparent, the Biden administration doesn’t know how to get out of it, he added.

“At this point it is a ship without any direction. “It’s kind of like a drowning man just flailing,” Shapiro said. “This is how I interpret all these arbitrary statements from the administration. Meanwhile, the reality continues: Israel does what it wants. The guns keep flowing.”

Since the war broke out on October 7, several points of contention have emerged between the Israeli and US governments.

For example, they have formulated different visions for the post-war Gaza Strip. The USA wants that Palestinian authority Israel wants to eventually rule the area, but Israel wants Gaza to remain under its security control.

However, disagreements over the future have not shaken Washington’s support for the ongoing war, the scale and intensity of which is distressing the Palestinians.Danger of genocide“, say UN experts.

U.S. officials, including Biden, also stressed the need for a two-state solution to the conflict, putting them once again at odds with the Netanyahu government, which rejects the creation of a Palestinian state.

But on Tuesday, the US was one of four countries, along with Israel, to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution Affirmation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. The measure was supported by 172 other nations.

For Zahr, the vote is another example of how US policy remains behind Israel even when it does Biden’s rhetoric appears to differ from that of Israeli leaders.

“How dare you say that you want to be an honest mediator, that you want to create ‘peace’ between Palestinians and Israelis, when you say that you believe in the right of one party to self-determination and not the right to self-determination?” Destiny of the other?” Zahr said. “This is a foreign policy clown show.”

Shapiro, meanwhile, said the Biden administration is making “unforced errors.” Its stance on the bloodshed in Gaza undermines its credibility and the principles it claims to represent on the world stage, he said.

“This government is so caught up in a pretzel; it knows no beginning from the end.”