US pushes for Israeli caution after lessons learned in Iraq

Discussions between the United States and Israel regarding the continuation of the war in Gaza have addressed the plan for ‘the day after,’ according to a Saturday report from N12.

Israel, the report claims citing American sources, has expressed its desire not to return to military control of the Strip and prefers to negotiate an interim government with the United Nations and the governments of Arab countries taking part.

There is no confirmation that Arab countries in the region would be interested in such an arrangement and the report stresses that such discussions remain in their nascent stages.

N12 quoted a White House National Security Council spokesman as saying that the US focus remains on creating a unified anti-terror front and pressing for the admittance of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

History repeating itself?

Lessons learned during the US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, in which US forces found themselves facing a drawn-out insurgency, guide US President Joe Biden in urging caution on the Israeli side.

"Justice must be done, but it is important for me to emphasize: while you feel this rage, do not let it consume you,"  the President said during his wartime visit to Israel on Wednesday. "After 9/11 we felt the same rage in the United States. While we sought justice and received it - we also made mistakes."