Say what? As bad as we expected the Antony Blinken Lecture Tour in Jerusalem to be, even I wouldn’t have predicted that a US Secretary of State would have said this to a country victimized by a massive terror attack that killed 1400 people.

That is, if Blinken actually told the Israelis that they don’t have enough “credit” to fight Hamas to the finish. The transcript comes from the Times of Israel, which translated it from a Hebrew transcript leaked to Israel’s Channel 12 News. Could something have gotten lost in translation? Perhaps, but it’s not the only eyebrow-raising part of the exchange, either. It begins with Blinken scolding the Israelis for fighting the war Hamas started by conducting operations where Hamas hides itself:

Blinken: You can’t operate in southern Gaza in the way you did in the north. There are two million Palestinians there. You need to evacuate fewer people from their homes, be more accurate in the attacks, not hit UN facilities, and ensure that there are enough protected areas [for civilians]. And if not? Then not to attack where there is a civilian population. What is your system of operation?

IDF Chief Herzi Halevi: We follow a number of principles — proportionality, distinction, and the laws of war. There were instances where we attacked on the basis of those principles, and instances where we decided not to attack, because we waited for a better opportunity.

Once again, the Israelis understand the international legal definition of “proportionality,” whereas Blinken and Joe Biden are clearly operating under the definition preferred by Hamas and the Palestinian authority. “Proportionality” does not rely on competing death counts, but instead the calculation between military necessity and the potential for excess civilian deaths. Hamas uses civilians and civilian infrastructure to hide its fighters and operations, which is a gross violation of the laws of war. Rather than hold Hamas responsible for that, however, Blinken and Biden enable Hamas’ propaganda strategy by attempting to instruct Israel that they cannot attack Hamas while it uses human shields — in a war Hamas started.

That leads to Blinken’s most arrogant declaration in the transcript … assuming he actually said this. Defense minister Yoav Gallant essentially told Blinken to pound sand, and Blinken got the message loud and clear (emphasis mine):

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant: The entire Israeli society is united behind the goal of dismantling Hamas, even if it takes months.

Blinken: I don’t think you have the credit for that.

Oh, really? Credit with whom, exactly? Biden? Biden and Blinken seem perfectly ready to extend an unlimited amount of credit to Hamas these days, and this is a perfect example. Blinken apparently doesn’t even bother to credit the Israelis for taking clear steps to provide aid, corridors for civilians to retreat, and using surgical operations rather than bunker-busters to destroy Hamas infrastructure co-located in civilian buildings. After five weeks of careful operations, Blinken essentially blames Israel for all civilian deaths in Gaza rather than the terrorist quasi-government that is actually violating all of the norms of armed conflict and hiding behind those civilians.

This is the deadly double standard employed by the West that has allowed Hamas to survive in Gaza through seventeen years of warmaking. That warmaking includes, by the by, a near-constant shelling of Israeli civilians that continues even during US-brokered “cease fires.” Israel has given the US a credit line to follow this strategy on the notion that Hamas would eventually tame itself or be tamed through billions of dollars in international aid, an American strategy that backfired horrifically on October 7.

Perhaps Blinken’s not getting the message, but it’s pretty clear to everyone else. The US no longer has the credit to impose such suicidal strategies on Israel, not the other way around. Or to put it another way: Israel isn’t about to take lessons on defending its citizens from the geniuses that abandoned 14,000 Americans to the Taliban in 2021.

As I wrote above, that’s not the only Blinken demand that got shut down in his meeting today. Blinken insisted that Mahmoud Abbas be given control of Gaza at the earliest possible moment, and Benjamin Netanyahu essentially replied over my dead body:

Blinken: You don’t want the Palestinian Authority on the day after. We understand that. The best way to kill an idea is to bring a better idea. The other states in the region need to know what you are planning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: As long as I’m sitting in this chair, the Palestinian Authority, which supports, educates and finances terror, will not rule Gaza on the day after Hamas.

Perhaps Blinken should check in with the “other states in the region.” Arab diplomats are already expressing skepticism over Abbas’ ability to do anything to control the situation in Gaza, and the PA more generally as well:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has become a “liability,” contributing to reluctance from Arab leaders to fully cooperate with the Biden administration’s strategy for a post-war Gaza, two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel this week.

The US envisions the PA eventually returning to govern the coastal enclave currently ruled by Hamas, but the Arab diplomats expressed skepticism that the 87-year-old president plagued by longstanding corruption allegations is capable of reuniting the West Bank with Gaza under the PA.

Accordingly, Arab allies have been hesitant to embrace US proposals to contribute to an international force that would help manage Gaza’s security for an interim period until the PA can take over, the diplomats said.

“There is not a lot of hope that this day could ever come under Abu Mazen,” the first Arab diplomat said, referring to Abbas.

Blinken and Biden don’t have a fresh idea between them, and it clearly appears that their credit has run out in Jerusalem with their demands for yet another return to status quo ante. They would be better off keeping their mouths shut and letting Israel and its Sunni correspondents figure this out between them.