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As Israel tests red lines on Rafah, what will Biden tolerate?

Amid the mounting death toll in Rafah, many of Biden’s detractors say his shifting red line has become an effective green light for continued carnage in the Palestinian enclave.

ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
A demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag in front of the White House during a protest in Washington, DC, May 28, 2024. — ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s national security spokesperson John Kirby insisted to journalists this week that Biden had been “very clear and very direct” on what he will tolerate in Rafah. 

Judging by the number of follow-up questions, Biden’s position is anything but. 

Kirby and other administration spokespeople have spent weeks trying to articulate what would constitute a crossing of Biden’s rhetorical “red line” for continued US support for Israel. 

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