Democrat Party Urges President Biden to Prevent Israel from Attacking Rafah

Israeli Tanks in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden's administration faced new pressure on Wednesday from the Democratic Party that supports him, to prevent a large-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah, the city where nearly half of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million residents have fled.

Fifty-seven of the 212 Democratic Party members in the House of Representatives signed a letter calling on the government to take all possible measures to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government from carrying out a major offensive against the city near the Egyptian border.

"We urge you to use existing laws and policies to immediately withhold certain offensive military assistance to the government of Israel, including assistance stemming from bills already signed into law, to prevent a major attack on Rafah, "The message was dated Wednesday, according to Reuters, May 2.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter led by lawmakers Pramila Jayapal and Madeleine Dean.

President Biden's support for Israel in the war against Hamas has become a significant political liability for the president, especially among young Democrats.

This sparked a wave of protests "untethered" to the Democratic Party primaries and also prompted a wave of pro-Palestinian protests at US universities.

This raises concerns for Democrats, as President Biden is facing a tight re-election battle against his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he still had not seen plans for an Israeli attack on Rafah that would protect civilians, reiterating that Washington could not support such an attack.

Secretary of State Blinken and PM Netanyahu met in Jerusalem for 2.5 hours on Wednesday, after which Israel reiterated the Rafah operation would go ahead, despite US positions and UN warnings that it would lead to "tragedy".

It is known that the United States is Israel's diplomatic supporter and main arms supplier. Secretary of State Blinken's visit to Israel comes about a month after President Biden issued a stark warning that Washington's policy could change if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian losses, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.