The Biden Administration remains committed to the ability of Israel to defend itself, and to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state able to improve the prospects for its people living peacefully in close proximity to Israel.

The challenges are great as at the moment both Israelis and Palestinians are consumed by war and a hatred of each other. The war has so far resulted in the death of over 31,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, and the threatened starvation of over half the Palestinian population in Gaza of 2.2 million people. The Biden Administration is deeply criticized internationally for providing bombs and other weapons killing innocent Palestinians in Gaza, and at the same time struggling to provide emergency food intended to keep innocent Palestinians alive.

The Biden Administration is faced with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing supporters convinced that peace with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank can only come from Israeli control of Palestinians behind walls and fences. This containment has included the Israeli establishment of over 144 illegal settlements and 500,000 settlers in the West Bank. The Biden Administration, on the other hand, is convinced that peace can only come from a ceasefire, exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and building of governmental institutions with international supporters that can guarantee peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

In the U.S. a group of Democratic senators has argued in a letter to President Biden that continuing to provide offensive weapons to Israel when Israeli policies unduly constrain humanitarian assistance to famished Palestinians is a violation of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act, and should be halted. The U.S. provides Israel with a modern “Iron Dome” defense system protecting against Hamas missiles. A decision to halt further provision of offensive weapons to Israel could encourage Israel to agree to a ceasefire and halt in the war until U.S. humanitarian assistance objectives are met.

The decision of the Biden Administration to construct docks and a causeway to the Gaza coast to facilitate delivery of food and water to Palestinians will be helpful when completed. But this approach and the current air drops of food will not be sufficient. Unencumbered access by trucks is required to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinian refugees. For this to happen, the Biden Administration should remove the block it has imposed on financing to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Only UNRWA has the trucks, warehouses and personnel needed to distribute the volume of food, medicine and other requirements.

To enable Gaza and its people to recover from the intensive war, the Biden Administration and friendly Middle East countries should work together and insist that Israel end its 17-year siege of Gaza. Local Palestinians refer to Gaza as the biggest open-air prison in the world. Israeli containment of Gaza prevents travel of Palestinians to the West Bank, Israel or abroad for legitimate purposes, and for the import of food, other necessities and construction materials. This blockade has reinforced continuing family unemployment of over 50%, deep poverty, widespread malnutrition and isolation of people from outside life and improved well-being.

The war in Gaza has now reached a critical level with Prime Minister Netanyahu declaring Israel determined to wage a ground war in Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinian refugees are desperately seeking shelter from the war. They live in tents and in open exposure.

Only the Biden Administration has the clout to turn the situation around from mutual hatred and killing to a future of peace, security and improved well-being for Israeli and Palestinian citizens. The Biden Administration must immediately secure the halt of the war by slowing or terminating the provision of offensive bombs and rockets to Israel so that a framework for peace can be put in place. This should include the following actions:

1. Hamas swap all Israeli hostages it still holds for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

2. Israel halt establishment of further illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

3. Israel open all gates to Gaza and expedite clearance procedures so that up to 500 trucks with food, water, medicines and other provisions can again be delivered to Palestinians on a daily basis.

4. The U.S. initiate the process of gradually establishing a Palestinian State including Gaza and the West Bank with the support of the Palestinian Authority and friendly Middle Eastern countries including Jordan, Egypt and Gulf States. The longer-term goal would be the establishment of the Palestinian State as a UN Member State.

5. The U.S. establish a Palestinian peacekeeping force made up of troops from outside the region with willing NATO and Middle Eastern countries. The longer-term goal would be to neutralize Hamas as a fighting force.

6. UN agencies plan and help implement an urgent Gaza rehabilitation program with the help of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and other interested countries and aid organizations.

7. The U.S. encourage Saudi Arabia and other interested Middle East countries to recognize Israel and join partnerships as part of the recently established Abraham Accords.

The U.S. as Israel’s accepted and appreciated foreign ally must provide continuing assurance to the Israeli population that it stands behind the formation of a successful two state solution that can be fully trusted by both the Israeli and Palestinian people. The healing process may take considerable time, maybe years, and require the continuing presence and engagement of the US and other peace-keeping countries as long as necessary.

Arthur Holcombe was resident representative of the United Nations Development Program and resident coordinator of UN Operational Activities in China from 1992 to 1998. From 2011 to 2015, he headed a U.S. program to strengthen economic opportunity for Palestinian women in Gaza. He lives in Hanover.