BEIRUT - US President Joe Biden’s speech on Friday, May 31, which sought to cover up the Israeli occupation entity’s failure to weaken the Gazan resistance, came after strong fighting by the resistance front.

On the same day, Beirut hosted the 33rd Arab National Congress, hosting resistance figures from Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. In his speech, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened escalation if Israel crossed the northern border. President Assad met with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a day prior, and Yemen has been under relentless bombing from American and British warplanes. 

The direction of Biden’s speech and the developments mentioned indicate America may have reason to believe the Axis of Resistance may be escalating its resistance.

Biden’s unplanned speech, with the announced delivery on the same day can be characterized with seeking to put a smile on a bad face. It seemed to be directed towards the settler population more so than the Zionist leadership, convincing them the Israeli occupation entity’s security would be intact if they accepted the ceasefire proposal. Biden claimed the Gazan resistance is “no longer capable of carrying out another October 7th”; this is while occupation soldiers are being ambushed daily and even US intelligence admits most of the Gazan resistance’s fighting capacity and tunnels remain intact.

In fact, the occupation forces recently withdrew from Jabalia, after 3 weeks of having achieved nothing except the mass killing of civilians. This is despite the claim in the new year that they had destroyed the resistance infrastructure in the area, whilst the resistance today continues to fire missiles within the Gaza Strip. This is a desperate attempt from Biden to grant the Israeli occupation entity the excuse to end the war, as he spoke of the failures of reaching any victory against the Gazan resistance through the continuation of the war. He emphasized how the continuation of the war is increasing the occupation entity’s isolation in the world, demonstrating the power of the international uprising and mass protests in weakening the American and Western positions.

Biden put forward the ceasefire proposal he claimed was on Israeli terms, which was viewed “positively” by the Gazan resistance and considered by an Israeli official in the right-wing cabinet as a victory for the resistance, according to Israeli media. In reality, the proposal is no different from what the Gazan resistance had previously accepted, with Biden urging the Israeli occupation entity ‘to stand with this agreement, regardless of pressure. He stated there are those in the entity’s coalition government who will call for the war to continue indefinitely, making it clear that “they want to occupy Gaza and keep fighting for years, the hostages are not a priority for them.” This statement, in addition to the ceasefire proposal stipulating the return of Palestinians to their areas in Gaza, implies that the occupation entity’s plan to depopulate Gaza is rejected and the American two-state solution will advance.

Biden also emphasized the need for “calm in the northern border,” proving the extent to which the attacks by the Lebanese resistance front have been effective in bleeding the occupation entity. The emphasis on America’s role in protecting the occupation regime from the Iranian missile attack is also an indication of the lack of desire for the expansion of the war fronts, a serious risk in the event of the continuation of the war.

The conclusion from Biden’s speech is that if the extreme right within the Israeli occupation entity wishes to continue in the same direction, the occupation regime will cease to exist. The larger possibility is that the entity will cave into the American pressure. Closing the chapter of this failing war and tending towards a ceasefire is a pressing issue in light of America recalibrating towards Russia and Ukraine, with American weapons granted to Kyiv on the same day to target Russia, in addition to the developments in Iran with the upcoming elections.