The Biden administration is taking new steps to defuse the growing crisis in the Middle East, at a time when any action related to Israel could affect the outcome of the US presidential election in three weeks.

In recent days, President Joe Biden’s team has warned Israel that it must resume humanitarian aid to Gaza or face a disruption in arms deliveries; extracted an apparent commitment from Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear and oil facilities; marked the anniversary of the murder of a Palestinian American boy; and publicized steps taken to combat Islamophobia in the United States.

Such moves reflect the urgency felt by the administration to prevent a fight that has already spread far beyond Gaza from spiraling into an all-out regional war that entangles the United States and further fuels anti-Gaza anger. American among Muslims.

But the moves could also benefit Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race against Donald Trump if Biden appears to be tougher on Israel.

This is particularly the case in key states like Michigan, where significant numbers of Arab and Muslim Americans live. Many of these voters – but also other younger, more progressive voters in Michigan and beyond – are unwilling to vote for Harris because she has not broken with Biden’s strong commitment to Israel in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.

At the same time, being too tough on Israel risks antagonizing many pro-Israel voters within the Jewish community and beyond, whom Trump is courting.

In Michigan, about 1% of the state’s 10 million residents are Jewish and about 3% have Middle Eastern or North African ancestry — two potentially crucial voting blocs in a state where Harris and Trump are neck to neck.

Particularly among this second group, Biden has been accused of not exerting as much influence as he could over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or how Israel behaves in wartime.

“They are working to combat this narrative that Bibi is in charge of the escalation and Biden is just sitting in the passenger seat watching the situation escalate, while offering lukewarm criticism,” said a former official. administration which regularly addresses current officials. on Middle East politics. “It’s a difficult narrative to combat.” Like others, the former official was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.

Spokespeople for the Biden administration have denied that the measures revealed this week have anything to do with the election. Race was “not a factor at all,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday.

“The president has been very consistent in expressing our concerns to the Israelis about humanitarian aid arriving in Gaza, and he is certainly aware of our efforts to communicate those concerns to the Israelis,” said John Kirby, Security Council spokesman. National from the White House.

A spokesperson for the Harris campaign declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington.

Biden and his aides have at times sent mixed signals about U.S. goals. For example, some of his aides quietly supported Israel in intensifying its fight against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, even as other parts of the administration worked with allies to develop a ceasefire plan. 21-day fire to put an end to this struggle. More recently, the administration has downplayed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

Some confusing messages are due to US calculations that offering some support to Israel in its battle gives the Biden team more leverage over its actions, as well as the US desire to weaken Iran.

But every U.S.-backed battle also endangers civilian lives. And every image of innocent Palestinians, Lebanese or others caught in the crossfire raises questions about America’s role.

“Biden is a lame-duck president, and there’s not much he can do. On the other hand, there are things he could still do, like not sending offensive weapons,” said a Democratic lawmaker who supports the president but opposes Israel’s war policies. “I think that would be an important signal. And we didn’t want to do it.

Harris is aware of this dynamic, and she has at times spoken more clearly than Biden about the need to protect civilians in places like the Gaza Strip.

But she was also careful not to appear at odds with Biden. Harris did not call for a halt to U.S. arms shipments to Israel, for example. Biden has largely allowed these arms transfers to continue, saying Israel has the right to protect itself against enemies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as Iran’s Islamist regime.

Israel arguably has the most influence over what ultimately happens on the ground, and its officials say they will do what is in their national interest.

Netanyahu is a staunch Trump supporter who likely wouldn’t mind seeing Harris defeated in November. But the Biden administration’s latest actions suggest the United States hopes to succeed in convincing Netanyahu to recalibrate his thinking.

The United States is concerned, for example, that Israel plans to soon strike Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities in retaliation against Tehran – thereby intensifying the confrontation between the governments and driving up global energy prices. Reports emerged Monday that Netanyahu told U.S. officials that his country would not target such facilities, a potential sign that he was listening to U.S. advice.

A senior US official confirmed the reports and said Israel had suggested going after military targets and other sensitive Iranian equipment and infrastructure. But the White House is also aware that Netanyahu’s record of living up to his wartime assurances is mixed.

The Biden administration also announced over the weekend that it would send the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to Israel along with 100 U.S. troops to operate it, in another attempt to persuade Iran to give up future retaliatory strikes.

Another report this week, carried by outlets including CNN, recounted how Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to senior Israeli officials warning that Israel needed to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza or risk violating U.S. laws that could force U.S. officials to withhold military aid.

The letter, confirmed Tuesday by administration officials, is relatively harsh in tone and details the misery on the ground. It gives Israel 30 days to show it is taking steps to ease conditions. This falls after the presidential election.

But the United States has had numerous opportunities over the past year to probe whether Israeli actions on the battlefield violated U.S. and international laws, and U.S. officials have evaded the question, infuriating rights activists. the man.

“The American Muslim community as a whole will likely view this effort as disingenuous,” said Yasmine Taeb, a prominent progressive activist in touch with the White House. “If you truly cared about the lives of Muslims and Palestinians, you would stop sending the weapons that are used to kill them every day. »

Still, the letter is something Biden aides can point to when asked why the U.S. isn’t doing more to help Palestinian civilians who face everything from constant displacement to severe difficulty finding food .

Miller, speaking to reporters at his regular press briefing, insisted that past interventions by the Biden administration had led Israel to authorize more humanitarian aid to Gaza and that such letters could have an effect .

The administration has also taken steps to emphasize that it cares about the lives of Arabs and Muslims, both in the Middle East and in the United States.

Biden issued a statement Monday marking the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois a year earlier, saying “there is no place for hatred in America, including hatred of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.

The White House also released a fact sheet outlining steps it has taken to combat anti-Arab and Islamophobic hatred over the past year. In both statements, Harris was also mentioned, and the administration made sure to distribute the fact sheet and statement to progressive activists.

It’s unclear whether these kinds of missives will resonate with voters, but at least some American Muslim communities have been showing more willingness to embrace Harris in recent weeks.

This month, Harris was endorsed by the Muslim Americans in National Security group and by a group of 25 prominent Islamic leaders who wrote that voting for Harris “far outweighs the harms of the other options.”

Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.