Israel’s Vow To Strengthen Attacks Against Hamas In Gaza Puts U.S. In Tough Position
By Anne Gearan July 15 at 9:02 PM
Israel’s pledge to intensify its military operation in the Gaza Strip could hasten the moment when the Obama administration will be forced to decide whether to use its leverage to corral its closest ally in the Middle East.
Israeli officials, in a series of television interviews, statements and social-media venues, said Tuesday that Hamas’s rejection of a cease-fire offer validated the force it has used over eight days of conflict and made legitimate their argument for a wider military effort.
The Obama administration appeared to accept that rationale, blaming the armed Islamist movement in Gaza for missing an opportunity to end the eight-day aerial assault and avoid a ground invasion. But, if the recent past is any guide, the administration will soon be under pressure from European and Arab allies to call on Israel to end the military operation.
Doing so now would be diplomatically delicate for the administration. Hamas rejected the Egypt-negotiated cease-fire offer and continued to fire rockets into Israel on Tuesday, claiming the first Israeli life in the most recent conflict.
But a broader Israeli operation and an attendant spike in Palestinian casualties could quickly add pressure on the Obama administration to demand an end to the assault, whether heeded or not by an Israeli government with a historically uneasy relationship with President Obama.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/israels-vow-to-strengthen-attacks-against-hamas-in-gaza-puts-us-in-tough-position/2014/07/15/5949da9a-0c50-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html
