President Joe Biden meets at the White House with his Middle East ally, King Abdullah II of Jordan, as prospects for a ceasefire in Gaza appear dim and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israeli authorities They blame each other for the stagnation. On Sunday, Hamas reiterated its demand to end the war in exchange for the release of the hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed it. Hamas also attacked the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which Israel said killed three of its soldiers.
A Jordanian diplomat told Reuters that Monday’s meeting between Biden and King Abdullah is not a formal bilateral meeting, but rather an informal private meeting. It comes as the Biden administration and Israeli authorities remain at odds over Israel’s planned military incursion into Rafah. Biden last met with King Abdullah at the White House in February, and the two allies discussed a daunting list of challenges, including an imminent Israeli ground offensive in southern Gaza and the threat of a humanitarian calamity among the Palestinian civilians.
Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of Israel’s actions and have been demanding a ceasefire since mid-October, when civilian casualties began to skyrocket. The war began after Hamas surprised Israel with a cross-border raid on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and took 252 hostages, according to Israeli counts. Biden last spoke with Netanyahu on April 28 and “reiterated his clear position” on a possible invasion of the Gaza border city of Rafah, the White House said. The US president has been firm in his demand that Israel not undertake a ground offensive in Rafah without a plan to protect Palestinian civilians.
With pro-Palestinian protests erupting on American college campuses, Biden faces growing political pressure to convince Israel to desist from an invasion. Last week, Biden addressed the unrest on college campuses over the Gaza war, but said the protests had not forced him to reconsider his Middle East policy.
With information from Reuters
