Eli Lake, Columnist

A Cease-Fire Is Not Enough When It Comes to Hamas

The U.S. and its allies need to help Palestinians improve their elections and civil society.

May 19, 2021 at 10:00 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Rocket fire over Gaza, May 12.
Photographer: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP

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Since war broke out in Israel last week, President Joe Biden has walked a fine line. His administration has touted its high-level diplomacy in hopes of reaching a cease-fire, while also defending Israel’s right to defend itself.

On Wednesday, the president mildly increased the pressure on the Israelis, saying he expected to see de-escalation in the next 24 hours. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that he has no intention of stopping the operations against Hamas for now.