Why the Outrageous Behavior?

The continuing treatment of Israel toward Joe Biden, Obama’s vice president, is confusing to observers and analysts. The treatment is an exception to the principal rule of politics, that policy should be driven by one’s interests. As stated by the London newspaper, The Guardian, it’s uncommon to see a country damage itself with its own hand as Israel has done.

Rather than embracing Vice President Biden, Netanyahu’s government slapped him in the face when it chose the day of Biden’s visit to Israel to announce the building of 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem. This is a prime example of an action that is an insult to the U.S. administration, which requested Israel freeze its settlement operations in the territory occupied since 1967.

It is no wonder then that President Obama was outraged, spending an hour and a half on the phone with Biden to agree on the wording of their criticism of Israel’s actions.

Israeli newspapers are filled with contradictory explanations for Israel’s poor course of action. Among these explanations is that Netanyahu acted in ignorance, not knowing that the Planning Committee of the Interior Ministry was about to announce the settlement plans. Others say that the Israeli prime minister sees a benefit in challenging the United States by poking it in the eye. One Israeli commentator said that neither explanation is convincing, comparing Netanyahu’s situation to a man being forced to choose between cholera and the plague.

Logic says that the damage done to Israel is significant. It is not wise to insult your strongest ally, especially when the ally is hugely powerful with unrivaled influence over the region. It is also insolent and irresponsible of Israel to belittle its most important friend, Joe Biden, a proclaimed Zionist.

Most importantly, Israel’s shocking behavior comes at a time when Washington was preparing to launch indirect peace negotiations with the Palestinians. The aim of the negotiations was to enable the Palestinians to establish their own state alongside Israel, an aim that wins international support and is in the interests of the Jewish state, in addition to Palestinian interests.

At the same time, many Arabs and Palestinians feel that the attempt of the United States to resume peace negotiations in the Middle East has come too late. However, Israel must not be allowed to escape accountability for its actions and, as stated by Paul Salem from the Carnegie Institute for International Peace, Israel should not be allowed the opportunity to sabotage the U.S.’s plan.

Having witnessed Joe Biden and the Obama administration’s humiliating experience, Oussama Safa from the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies told the Herald Tribune that the Netanyahu government’s actions were an authorized and carefully studied move, aiming to humiliate, harm and send a message that the Israelis, not the Americans, hold the reins.