President Joe Biden greatly increased the pressure on Israel to end the war with Hamas in Gaza, telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone call Wednesday that he expected “significant de-escalation” by day’s end. Biden asked Netanyahu to move “toward the path to a cease-fire,” according to a White House description of their conversation. Biden’s call came as political and international pressure mounts on him to intervene more forcefully to push an end to the hostilities. Biden, until Wednesday, had avoided pressing Israel more directly and publicly for a cease-fire, or conveyed that level of urgency for ending Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas in the thickly populated Gaza Strip. His administration had relied instead on what officials described as “quiet, intensive” diplomacy, including quashing a U.N. Security Council statement that would have addressed a cease-fire. The administration’s handling opened a divide between Biden and Democratic lawmakers, dozens of whom have called for a cease-fire. Biden is calling for Israel to de-escalate while the terrorist group Hamas is still firing rockets at Israeli citizens. It would be unacceptable if one of our allies called for de-escalation if Washington DC were targeted by rockets. We must stand with Israel against terrorism. — Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) May 19, 2021 Egypt and some others have worked without success to broker a halt to fighting, while Hamas officials indicated publicly they would keep up their rocket barrages into Israel as long Israel continued airstrikes. Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who is based abroad, said this week that the group has been contacted by the United Nations, Russia, Egypt and Qatar as part of cease-fire efforts but “will not accept a solution that is not up to the sacrifices of the Palestinian people.” Netanyahu had given no sign of plans to immediately wind down Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders and supply tunnels in Gaza, a 25-mile by 6-mile strip of territory that is home to more than 2 million people. “You can either conquer them, and that’s always an open possibility, or you can deter them,” he told foreign ambassadors. “We are engaged right now in forceful deterrence, but I have to say, we don’t rule out anything.” (AP)

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