The White House National Security Council is keeping its decision to halt supplies of U.S.-made weapons that Israel could use to carry out a full-scale attack on Rafah from public view in the days leading up to President Biden’s Holocaust Remembrance Day speech. It is said that he tried hard. .
The Associated Press, citing a U.S. official not authorized to comment on the matter, reported that Biden agreed to the suspension in an order he passed to the Pentagon last week. But the NSC wants to keep the decision quiet until it has a better understanding of the scope of Israel’s stepped-up military operation in Rafah, and Biden announced a long-planned speech on Tuesday to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. I did it. The cargo was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, a senior U.S. government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
The focus of US attention was on larger explosives and how they could be used in dense urban areas.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden said he would halt some shipments of U.S.-made weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a large-scale invasion of the city of Rafah, the last major Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip. Then he said. It is the first time Biden has said he is prepared to condition U.S. weapons on Israel’s actions in the seven-month war that began in response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
“Civilians are being killed in Gaza as a result of bombs and other attacks on populated areas,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “I think if they go into Rafah, they haven’t gone into Rafah yet, even if they go into Rafah, historically they have been used to deal with cities, to deal with Rafah. We have made it clear that we will not be supplying the weapons that have been used in the past.
The Biden administration began considering future military aid transfers in April, as Netanyahu’s government appeared to be moving closer to invading Rafah, despite months of opposition from the White House. Officials told the AP that the decision to suspend shipments was made last week and that no final decision has been made yet on whether to continue shipping at a later date.
Biden vows to withhold weapons from Israel if Netanyahu goes ahead with Rafah invasion
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Thursday about the Associated Press report, but did not immediately receive a response.
President Biden speaks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual memorial service on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. officials declined to comment on the deportation suspension for several days, but the news came Tuesday as Biden described U.S. support for Israel as “ironclad, even if we disagree.”
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 television news that he found the decision to halt shipments “very unfortunate and even frustrating.” He suggested the move stemmed from political pressure on Biden from Congress, protests on US campuses, and the upcoming election.
The decision also received harsh rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Despite assurances from the Biden administration, he said he only learned about the backlog of military aid from reports. No such suspension was in progress. In a letter, Republicans urged Biden to quickly end the blockade and explain to lawmakers the nature of the policy review, saying there was a “risk of emboldening Israel’s enemies.”
Mr. Biden has come under pressure from some on the left and accusations from critics on the right who say he has toned down his support for key allies in the Middle East.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin acknowledged the weapons delays early Wednesday, telling the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee that the U.S. had suspended “one shipment of large munitions.”
“We will continue to do what is necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “However, we are currently considering some short-term security support deliveries in light of the unfolding events in Rafah.”
President Biden speaks with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during the Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on May 7, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“There is a price to be paid if we turn off the weapons necessary to annihilate the enemies of the State of Israel in times of great crisis,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.S.C., joining Austin in speaking out. “This is despicable. It’s ridiculous. Give Israel what it needs to fight a war it can’t lose.”
Biden supporter Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, said in a statement that stopping large bombs must be a “first step.”
Biden warns Netanyahu against Rafah invasion as Israel prepares for action
“Our impact is clear,” Sanders said. “Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people.”
Meanwhile, Austin told lawmakers, “It’s important that we have the right type of weapon for the task at hand.”
“Small diameter bombs are precision weapons and can be very useful in crowded residential environments,” he said, “but maybe not as much as a 2,000-pound bomb that can cause a lot of collateral damage.” he said. He said the US wants Israel to conduct “more precise” operations.
Israeli forces took control of the key Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in what the White House described as a limited operation, short of a full-scale Israeli invasion of the city that Biden has repeatedly warned about. This was also the case in a recent phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday. .
President Biden is welcomed as he arrives at the Capitol on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, to commemorate the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Israel ordered 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate the city. Israeli forces also carried out what they called a “targeted attack” in eastern Rafah.
Privately, there are growing concerns within the White House about what is happening in Rafah, but in public, administration officials say the operation echoes Biden’s warning against large-scale operations within Rafah, according to the Associated Press. He emphasized that he did not think that it was against the law. The State Department is separately considering whether to approve continued transfers of the Joint Direct Attack Munitions Kit, which equips bombs with precision guidance systems, to Israel, but that review did not concern any impending shipments.
Itamar Yar, former vice-chairman of Israel’s National Security Council and CEO of Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group of former senior Israeli security officials, said the U.S. move was Although it is largely symbolic, it is a sign of trouble and, if true, could become even more problematic, he said. Maintained.
“This is not a U.S. embargo on U.S. military aid, but I think it is a kind of diplomatic message to Prime Minister Netanyahu that he needs to consider U.S. interests more than he has in the past few months,” he added. Ta. It’s “a kind of signal, a ‘be careful'”
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The United States has carefully dropped 2,000-pound bombs in its long-running war against the Islamic State terrorist group. In contrast, Israel used bombs frequently in its seven-month war in Gaza. Experts told The Associated Press that although the Hamas-run health ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, the use of the weapon is a contributing factor to the death toll of more than 34,000 Palestinians. He said that it has become.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
