Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday fired back after the White House attacked President Joe Biden’s claim that his administration is withholding weapons and ammunition needed for Israel’s war efforts.
As Breitbart News reported, Biden acknowledged in May that the US had withheld deliveries of large precision bombs in a failed attempt to thwart Israel’s attack on Hamas’ last stronghold in Rafah, southern Gaza. Biden also said the US would withhold artillery deliveries if Israel did not take sufficient measures to protect Palestinian civilians.
Earlier this week, there were unconfirmed reports that the US had told Israel it would resume arms shipments. Prime Minister Netanyahu then posted a video urging his administration to stop withholding weapons, a rare public and direct criticism that indicates the Israeli government believes the US is indeed withholding them.
The White House proclaimed ignorance and Netanyahu drew condemnation from his domestic opponents for openly attacking the Biden administration, but Republican senators supported his position. letter Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) on Thursday at the White House accused President Biden of using bureaucratic tactics to delay the delivery of a wide variety of weapons to Israel that Congress had already approved for sale.
Your Administration has engaged in bureaucratic ploys to withhold this vital aid to Israel while the fighting continues. As you know, the Arms Export Control Act requires the Administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country. Your Administration has exploited this requirement to withhold formal notification to Congress of approved arms sales, including F-15s, tactical vehicles, 120 mm mortars, 120 mm tank rounds, Joint Direct Attack Weapons, and Small Caliber Bombs. This allows the Administration to say weapons are “in production” and never deliver them.
The need for weapons is particularly acute as Israel faces a growing threat from Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hunts down the last Hamas battalions in the Gaza Strip.
White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby Said The Israeli government on Thursday disputed Netanyahu’s assertion of a arms hold, calling it “false as well as frustrating and disappointing to us,” reporters said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu responded in a statement to reporters: “If I need to be personally attacked in order to obtain the weapons and ammunition Israel needs to fight the war for its survival, I will gladly accept it.”
The Biden administration has openly supported calling new elections to oust Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Ironically, Biden’s opposition has boosted Netanyahu’s support in Israeli opinion polls.
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 is the author of his recently published 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.
