Diplomats warn Biden about Arab rage against US: ‘Genocide Joe’

US diplomats have privately warned the Biden administration of growing anger against the US in the Arab world amid Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip.

The Biden administration has received stern warnings from US diplomats serving in the Arab world that its strong support for Israel’s destructive and deadly military campaign in Gaza is “leading to the loss of the US Arab public for a generation.” This is stated in a diplomatic cable obtained by CNN.

The cable underscored U.S. officials’ deep concerns about the growing anger against the United States that erupted shortly after Israel began its operations against Hamas, following the militant group’s Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that killed more than 1,400 Israelis.

“We are losing badly in messaging,” the U.S. Embassy in Oman said in a cable released Wednesday, citing conversations with “a wide range of trusted and clear-headed contacts.”

Strong US support for Israel’s actions is viewed, the cable warns, “as material and moral guilt in what they consider possible war crimes.”

The embassy cable was written by the second-highest ranking official at the US Embassy in Muscat and sent, among others, to the White House National Security Council, the CIA and the FBI. While this is just one cable from a regional embassy, ​​it provides a glimpse into the anxiety over the growing anti-American tide sweeping the Middle East, CNN notes.

In another cable obtained by CNN from the American embassy in Cairo, a commentary from a state-run Egyptian newspaper was relayed to Washington that President Biden’s “cruelty and disregard for the Palestinians surpassed all previous US presidents.”

President Joe Biden is under growing pressure at home and abroad over the United States’ support for Israel amid images of destruction in Gaza and a dire humanitarian crisis in the region. While the administration has resisted calls for a ceasefire, officials have worked to increase aid flowing into Gaza and pushed for humanitarian pauses to allow more aid to flow into the enclave and allow civilians to flee away from the fighting.

In recent days, US allies in the Arab world have clearly expressed their deep outrage at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, CNN recalls.

Over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended a summit convened by Jordan’s foreign minister that included senior diplomats from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

At the summit, Arab leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while Blinken repeated US objections, arguing it would give Hamas time to regroup and launch another attack on Israel.

The White House said Thursday that Israel has agreed to move forward with a daily four-hour pause in military operations in areas of northern Gaza.

Blinken had an agreement in principle on pauses following his meetings in Israel last week, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed the idea of ​​humanitarian pauses on Friday, US officials told CNN. This was seen as the Israeli prime minister playing along with his coalition, and officials noted that it was similar to when the Israeli government opposed the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza before deciding to allow it.

Although Israel has introduced such pauses before, U.S. officials view the agreement as progress because the Israelis are using the language of “pauses” that the U.S. believes they can build on.

However, concerns have grown within the administration about US support for Israel.

CNN previously reported that some senior officials say privately that there are aspects of Israel’s military operations that they simply cannot stomach defending; calls among government officials for the United States to support a ceasefire are growing; and others distraught by the incessant images of Palestinian civilians dying in Israeli airstrikes.

Biden also faces growing disappointment at home, CNN notes.

Last week, the president clashed during a private fundraiser with a protester calling for a ceasefire in Gaza; pro-Palestinian protests have become a daily occurrence near the White House complex; and this week, one of the entrances near the West Wing was covered in bright red handprints – meant to imitate blood – and words like “genocide Joe.”