Israel National News - Arutz Sheva
American foreign relations expert Mike Doran, the director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute, published a post on X praising Israel for resisting pressure from the Biden Administration not to operate in Rafah, where the final four Hamas battalions are located.
"As an American it pains me to say this, but the most important thing the Israelis have done in this war by far is to defy President Biden when he publicly ordered them not to take Rafah," Doran wrote.
"When I hear the Israeli pundits and even some people in the Israeli security establishment say that PM Netanyahu is endangering the relationship with the U.S., I’m amazed" he said. "They do not realize this elementary fact: if they simply carry out American orders, if they are an extension of the U.S. on issues vital to their national security, then why would anyone ever negotiate with them directly? Washington would become the address for all important discussions about Israeli military operations. And Washington would, as a result, treat their own thinking about their situation with contempt, as an afterthought."
"The mere fact that bureaucrats in Washington whose kids will never be on the receiving end of an Iranian Shahed from Lebanon are already openly advertising their contempt for mainstream Israeli thinking about security should give every Israeli pause. But Bibi Derangement Syndrome is so pervasive in the Israeli elite that much of it can’t evaluate Israel’s interests without reference to any other factor," Duran said.
