TEHRAN – A political analyst says President Joe Biden’s ruthless position on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip even contravenes the views of most American citizens.

“Biden's sanguinary stance even runs counter to the wishes of a majority of Americans, with 66 percent in favor of a cease-fire,” Yuram Abdullah Weiler tells the Tehran Times.

Following is the text of the interview:

How do you analyze Israel’s atrocities in Gaza in terms of proportionality, international law, especially attacks on health centers, etc.?

Given the unabashed U.S. support of the genocide being executed by the Israeli entity against the Palestinian people of Gaza, I can no longer stomach Americans or their British or European lap dogs.  By referring to Palestinians as “human animals,” Zionist leaders have admitted their intent to commit genocide against innocent men, women and children in Gaza, and elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

“By referring to Palestinians as ‘human animals,’ Zionist leaders have admitted their intent to commit genocide against innocent Palestinian civilians.”

And it is genocide: according to Section 1091 of Title 18, United States Code, genocide includes violent attacks with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.  Already over 12,000 Palestinians, half of whom are women and children, have been slaughtered in these ongoing massacres. Additionally, Israelis have imposed a complete siege on Gaza, cutting off all water, food, electricity and fuel.  Starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited by Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Deprivation of basic supplies necessary for survival is a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(xxv)of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Article 51 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 covering the protection of the civilian population prohibits so-called indiscriminate attacks, which includes those not directed at specific military objectives, may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof. Likewise, Article 51(2) of Additional Protocol I prohibits “acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.”  The Zionist regime is in violation of these provisions as well.

The recent UN General Assembly vote on a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza demonstrated how isolated the U.S. is globally with 120 for to 14 against. While many abstained, not one traditional U.S. ally voted against the truce resolution.  Biden's sanguinary stance even runs counter to the wishes of a majority of Americans, with 66 percent in favor of a cease-fire. No wonder some sources are referring to Biden as “Genocide Joe.”

Moreover, a recent poll of Israelis has shown that support for continuing the carnage has dropped to 29 percent.  How hypocritically ironic that the descendants of the alleged victims of poison gas used by the Nazis in Germany are now using poison gas to further their genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. 

Are Israel’s actions instances of self-defense or the slaughter of Gazans?

Only a dyed-in-the-wool Zionist could describe this Gazan genocide as “self-defense.” As we all witness the relentless bombardment of Gaza by the Israelis’ warplanes and artillery, we likewise witness the United States scrambling to provide military support and political cover for its so-called “ally” to carry out what scholars of international law consider to be war crimes. 

“Biden giving overt political cover for the Zionist regime’s war crimes.”

Regrettably, the U.S. president has given the Israeli prime minister a “green light” to prolong this genocidal war against Gaza as he sees fit.   The U.S. certainly has sufficient leverage to pressure this apartheid regime to stop its genocidal campaign in Gaza. 

In an open letter to Biden, Sarbini Abdul Murad, Chief Presidium of Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia, wrote, “Every five minutes, a Palestinian child is killed ... Babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospitals, ambulances, medics, schools, teachers, residential complexes, worship places and much more. This is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing.” After demanding an immediate cease-fire, Dr. Murad concluded his letter stating, “We, the Indonesian people, and also the people all around world, will continue to support the struggle for the liberation of Palestinian land from Israeli Zionist colonialism.”

How do you describe the agonies of the inhabitants of Gaza who have been denied essential needs, living in constant fear of bombardment, grieving for the family members lost in aerial raids, etc.?

How can anyone describe the agonies of Gazan parents who witness their children’s remains being dragged out from the rubble, which had once been their homes and had been destroyed by Israelis with U.S.-supplied bombs? Karim Khan, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, called the situation in Gaza “a pandemic of inhumanity.”

Recall that during the Great March of Return two years ago, the Zionists deliberately targeted women, children and people in wheelchairs.  Now, one Israeli official is even talking about dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza.  They have already dropped 1-1/2 times (probably 2 x) the equivalent of the explosive power of the Hiroshima A-bomb on Gaza.  Meanwhile, the Wall Street analysts have placed buy recommendations on the weapons makers' stocks. 

Biden's ceaseless support of the genocidal Israeli campaign against Gaza, which includes bombing schools and hospitals, is causing displacement, death and destruction in Palestine on a scale not seen since the original Nakba in 1948.  Biden and members of his administration have lied about Israel’s bombing of schools and hospitals, giving overt political cover for the Zionist regime’s war crimes.  His administration has refused to hear the anguished outcries from people around the world demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. In the words of one Palestinian academic, “Biden has truly surpassed Trump in the fascist dehumanization of Palestinians.” 

Biden has repeated false news reports about Hamas members targeting civilians, beheading children and raping women, in support of a regime that includes a prime minister indicted for bribery and corruption, and a cabinet member convicted of terrorism. His claim that the U.S. upholds the laws of war is baseless; allowing Israel to use white phosphorus is one counterexample; allowing the cessation of food and water to Gaza is another, as intentional starvation of a civilian population is clearly a war crime. Moral revulsion is too mild a term for describing my feelings towards a U.S. president who would politically and logistically facilitate genocide. Once again, I am ashamed to be American.

What is the duty of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the face of such collective punishment?

While neither the U.S. nor Israel is a state party to the Rome Statute, Palestine is. Consequently, the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction extends to Gaza, the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. An ICC prosecutor concluded that “war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip,” but the ICC is underfunded and may not be able to pursue the investigation.  In contrast, the U.S. always seems to find funds to finance Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim A.A. Khan stated that his office began an investigation on 3 March 2021 concerning Rome Statute crimes committed since 13 June 2014 in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as the current situation in Gaza that began 7 October 2023. He has pleaded with the state parties to the Rome Statute “to provide us with the tools we need in order to allow us to effectively fulfil our mandate.” The upcoming Assembly of States Parties in December should demonstrate the commitment of those state parties to the principles of the ICC.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has claimed he wants to remove Hamas from Gaza. Do you think this is practically possible?

Hamas (Harakah al-Moqawamah al-Islamiyah, The Islamic Resistance Movement) was formed on 9 December 1987 after an Israeli military tractor trailer truck intentionally rammed a van carrying Palestinians, killing 3 outright and injuring 7 others. That evening, Hamas was established by a number of prominent Gazan leaders who were members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

When Hamas members won a majority of seats in the Palestinian legislative elections in 2007, the U.S. and Israel refused to recognize them and supported Fatah, after which Hamas took over Gaza. The U.S. and Israel even enlisted Mohammad Dahlan in an unsuccessful coup attempt.  Israeli attacks on the narrow coastal enclave have been relentless, year after year killing thousands of Palestinians, while the U.S. supplies arms and munitions, as well as political cover.

Despite the continuous attempts in the past by the Zionist regime to dislodge Hamas from Gaza, they have been unsuccessful.  Having failed previously to remove Hamas from Gaza, Netanyahu appears to be intent on wiping out Gaza in its entirety.  

Even if Hamas is debilitated, can it be imagined that new groups would not emerge after some years?

“As long as the underlying cause for the formation of Hamas and other resistance movements remains, there will be new resistance groups emerging to continue the struggle to free Palestine.”

This is exactly what a Rand Corp. assessment concluded in 2017, that is, the Zionist regime does not want to eliminate Hamas completely out of fear that a more violent organization would take its place. The report noted that many analysts were predicting a major conflict would take place at some time in the future.  As long as the underlying cause for the formation of Hamas and other Palestinian resistance movements, namely the Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestinian lands, remains, there will be new resistance groups emerging to continue the struggle to free Palestine.

Sociologically speaking, is it possible to imprison a population of about 2.3 million in an extremely small territory and expect them to remain silent and obedient?

 This is more of a rhetorical question; of course, it is impossible. Sooner or later there will be resistance to the oppression.

Don’t you think the way Israel is treating the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank automatically breeds extremism and violence?

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu recognized that Israel is an apartheid state during a visit in 1989. He acknowledged that Israeli treatment of Palestinians was "in many instances worse" than South Africa’s treatment of Blacks. Certainly in most cases, children brought up under such appalling circumstances of abuse and maltreatment would be drawn to embrace extremist ideologies as they mature. Children who experience the violence of war in their formative years become traumatized and pessimistic, and view their victimhood as a license to use violence in the future.

Also, how much do you think the Western world is responsible for the current situation which through its unwavering support for Israel has turned Tel Aviv into a “spoiled child” that rejects any offer to end this decades-long crisis?

Numerous attempts have been made over the past 70 years to establish an equitable peace; UN resolutions (GA181, GA242, SC338) the Camp David accords, Oslo I and II, the Arab Peace initiative, the Roadmap and the Abraham accords all attest to that fact. Yet all these efforts have failed primarily for one reason: the U.S. has refused to hold Israel accountable for its violations. Instead, the U.S. has allowed Israel to create an ever-expanding array of “facts on the ground” in the form of illegal settlements, which preclude any conceivable two-state solution.  Further, the U.S. grants Israel over $3 billion in military aid annually and provides political cover for its intransigence as exemplified by having vetoed over 50 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel.

What is the root cause of the crisis in Palestine and what is the solution to this bleeding wound?

With de facto annexation of the West Bank imposed by Israeli military aggression and over 500 checkpoints, Palestinians are denied the right of free movement between the fragmented portions of their historic lands within the West Bank. Gaza is completely isolated physically from the West Bank, and Palestinians in East Jerusalem are being ethnically cleansed from their ancestral homes. Death, danger, denigration, destruction of housing and denial of basic human rights are the daily fare for Palestinians who must constantly struggle to remain on their lands that have been usurped by the now 70-plus-year-old European Zionists’ colonization project.

The U.S. politicians continue to talk of a two-state solution. Unfortunately, a two-state solution is totally unfeasible at this time given the Swiss-cheese-like nature of illegal Israeli settlements and the corresponding overlay of security zones.  

What kind of Palestinian state can be envisioned in the West Bank where each Palestinian area is an isolated island unto itself in a sea of Israeli security infrastructure? And what of the 800,000 settlers illegally established by Israel in the West Bank over the last 56 years?

Historically, there have been four options for the Israeli-Palestine "conflict":

1- Israel can attempt to maintain its status quo as an apartheid regime,

2- Israel can extend its Palestinian genocide from Gaza to the West Bank,

3- The “two-state” solution, with Israel existing alongside a Palestinian state, or

4- A one-state solution: a multi-ethnic, confederation of regional states in place of entirely separate states of Israel and Palestine.

The Israeli regime has employed the first option with ever increasing severity for the last 56 years. This first option has led to the second option, which appears to be the current choice. The third option, still being purveyed by many U.S. leaders, is and has been for decades unfeasible for the above stated reasons. Even if assumed to be feasible, the two-state solution does nothing to alleviate the second-class status of Israel’s Palestinian citizens.

The fourth option would create a confederation of regional Israeli and Palestinian states, which ideally would respect each citizen’s religion and ethnicity while breaking the current, conflict-ridden deadlock. Unfortunately, it would also be the most complex to implement, and would require conceptual vision, persistent determination and significant concessions by all concerned.

Nevertheless, the one-state solution with its inherent justice offers the greatest possibility of ensuring the rights of Israelis and Palestinians, the redress of past violations, as well as the long-term endurance of peace.