Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated his claim that President Biden is withholding arms exports to Israel amid ongoing conflict between world leaders over Israel’s war with Hamas.
Netanyahu said Israel has experienced a “dramatic decline” in U.S. arms exports, a claim the Biden administration strongly denies.
When the prime minister first made the claim last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “We have no idea what he’s talking about. We have no idea.”
The Biden administration postponed the delivery of heavy bombs in May due to concerns they would be used against civilians, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that “everything else is proceeding as normal.”
The clashes come amid Netanyahu’s reluctance to accept a Biden-sponsored ceasefire deal that would end fighting and free hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a framework that Hamas leaders have also not fully agreed to.
Earlier this month, Biden said he had “every reason to believe” that Netanyahu was prolonging the war between Israel and Hamas for his own political gain.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s attacks on Gaza were “coming to an end” but warned of a looming war with Hezbollah in Lebanon amid rising tensions on the border. The Biden administration has been pressuring Netanyahu and the Israeli government to refrain from invading Lebanon, fearing an escalation of the regional war.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown warned on Sunday that Iran could support Hezbollah if Israel launched an attack, effectively turning the fighting into a proxy war and putting American soldiers at risk.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Washington on Sunday and met with senior Pentagon officials about the rising tensions.
Israeli officials have in recent weeks increasingly warned that a broader conflict with Hezbollah is inevitable, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning earlier this month that “one way or another” Israel would “restore security in the north” amid escalating cross-border shelling.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby stressed Thursday that “dialogue remains ongoing” among regional officials who remain hopeful of a diplomatic solution.
“We still do not want to see a second front opened,” he told reporters. “Obviously, we take the tensions and the rhetoric on both sides very seriously, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent such an outcome.”
