The White House canceled planned talks with Israel to discuss the growing Iranian threat, retaliating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion on Tuesday that the Biden administration was delaying weapons deliveries.
Israeli government spokesman David Menser confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday that the meeting had been canceled, but said that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew had later assured Netanyahu that the weapons in question had been handed over, and that Netanyahu had expressed his gratitude.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said he hopes this will happen and instructed his Israeli team to work with their American counterparts to that end.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 19, 2024
Earlier this week, there were unconfirmed reports that the US had given assurances to the Israeli government that arms shipments would resume after the Biden administration halted some shipments in early May.
Netanyahu posted a video online on Tuesday saying his administration was withholding some weapons and called on the White House to resume arms shipments. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said hours later that the administration did not know what Netanyahu was talking about.
Tuesday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal report The Biden administration is reportedly delaying an $18 billion sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel. The State Department denied that it was planning to slow down arms sales to Israel, but added that the “timing” of the weapons deliveries was an issue.
Meanwhile, Axios report Following Netanyahu’s assertion, the White House canceled high-level talks with Israeli officials on Iran that had been scheduled for Thursday.
It is unclear why the Biden administration would do so, since Iran also threatens U.S. interests, but Biden is in the middle of a tough re-election fight and is under pressure from left-leaning Democrats to take a tougher line against Netanyahu.
Mensah said Netanyahu began by “thanking the United States for its past support,” but also noted that he was speaking on behalf of “a country at war, a country facing Iran’s evil terror axis on seven different fronts, a country fighting for its very survival.”
Asked whether the current conflict was a new rift in the uneasy relationship between U.S. President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, Mensah said the U.S.-Israel partnership was strong, but “there will be times when issues arise in that partnership that will test it.”
“I certainly agree that the United States is our closest partner. We face the same enemies,” he added.
Israel is currently facing a severe ammunition shortage as it closes in on the last Hamas battalions in the Gaza Strip and faces the imminent possibility of war in southern Lebanon with another Iran-backed terrorist group, Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed a visiting delegation of US congressmen, saying: “I have said many times before that I am extremely grateful to the United States for standing by our side in this war. And I am also very grateful to the President of the United States for being here at the beginning of the war and sending a clear message on behalf of the American people. And we also very much respect the bipartisan support across all the divisions and conflicts in American society. We are fighting here a battle between the free world and the evil empire. That is why we must remain united.”
He added: “If there is something to discuss, it should be discussed quietly.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to address a special joint session of Parliament on July 24, but some Democratic lawmakers plan to disrupt and protest.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He recently published an e-book,The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Join It)” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
