On Friday’s CNN News Central broadcast, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that if Israel were to enter the population center of Rafah, it would require certain weapons from Israel. He said President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold “doesn’t help.” And he “took the pressure off Hamas when it shouldn’t have been.”
Co-host John Berman asked, “Do you agree with a policy that threatens to withhold certain weapons if Israel advances further into Rafah?”
Smith said: “I don’t think he should have done that in public. I think private conversations were very appropriate. I think another possibility is end-use restrictions. For example: We did it here in Ukraine. [are] Your weapons cannot fire at Russia. ”
Then the barman cut in and asked: “Why don’t you think it should have been made public?”
Mr. Smith replied: “Because the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a ceasefire right now is Hamas. And it’s largely underreported.” It has been considered that Hamas should stop that, no, Israel should completely withdraw, there should be a permanent cease-fire, and, oh, by the way, we would only return some of the hostages for a long time. “That offer is already on the table. We must continue to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.”
Berman then asked, “So what does it mean to threaten a citizen with withholding their weapons?”
Smith replied: “Well, I think that’s an exaggeration, but okay, and obviously there’s politics involved here. Republicans attack Joe Biden every time he opens his mouth. There’s this idea that it’s some kind of big signal to pull back on support, but the facts don’t support that.”
Berman then followed up with, “But you said you wish you hadn’t done it in public, and I’m trying to understand why.”
Smith replied: What I just said is the idea that this is somehow a major break with Israel, because I think it took pressure away from Hamas when it shouldn’t have. ”
Berman then asked, “Do you think that would discourage Hamas from coming to an agreement, some sort of moratorium?”
Mr. Smith replied: “That’s just one part of a bigger problem. … I think this is disproportionate. The United States still supports Israel. We also want to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. That’s the president. It’s a very difficult area that we’re trying to overcome.”
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