Netanyahu claims US significantly slowed down military aid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in an ongoing dispute with the Biden administration, accusing the U.S. of withholding military support. Netanyahu alleges that the U.S. has been restricting the delivery of weapons and ammunition to Israel for several months, despite numerous confidential discussions aimed at resolving the issue. The U.S., however, has denied such allegations, with U.S. officials expressing their disappointment and assuring that they are working to resolve any bottlenecks in the supply process. Despite these frictions, the U.S. continues to provide significant military aid to Israel, especially following a recent attack by Hamas. Both leaders, Netanyahu and Biden, are navigating their own challenging domestic political environments as they manage this diplomatic tension.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing his dispute with the Biden administration over whether the United States is holding up its military support.
Earlier this week, he came out with a video alleging that the U.S. “has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel,” and he has now claimed it has been going on for “months.” It sparked frustration within the administration, and U.S. officials have denied the allegations.
“We began to see that we had some significant problems emerging a few months ago. And in fact, we tried, in many, many quiet conversations between our officials and American officials, and between me and the president, to try to iron out this diminution of supply,” Netanyahu told Punchbowl News. “And we haven’t been able to solve it.”
The prime minister said he believes “it could be solved instantaneously with goodwill” but declined to explain what was prompting the alleged slowdown of weapons. “I felt that airing it was absolutely necessary after months of quiet conversation that did not solve the problem.”
“I raised this issue with Secretary [Antony] Blinken,” Netanyahu added. “And I said that we are being told by our Defense Department officials that barely a trickle is coming in. He said, ‘Well, everything is in process. We’re doing everything to untangle it. And to clear up the bottlenecks.’”
The Biden administration pushed back on Netanyahu’s claim and expressed its disappointment at it.
Netanyahu’s video “was perplexing, to say the least, certainly disappointing, especially given that no other country is doing more to help Israel defend itself against the threat by Hamas, and quite frankly, other threats that they’re facing in the region than the United States,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday. “I think we’ve made it abundantly clear to our Israeli counterparts through various vehicles our deep disappointment in the statements expressed in that video and our concerns over the accuracy in the statements made.”
An NSC spokesperson declined to provide a response to Netanyahu’s new claims made in the interview and instead referred the Washington Examiner to Kirby’s remarks.
Netanyahu’s office said U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew told the prime minister on Tuesday that the ammunition and weapons he was referencing “are in the process of being delivered to Israel.”
The U.S. has provided Israel with significant military aid over the course of the war and deployed resources to the Middle East to deter Israeli adversaries from acting following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that left roughly 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage.
Both Biden and Netanyahu face difficult domestic political landscapes. The U.S. president, a historically staunch Israel supporter, is facing backlash from the Democratic Party’s progressive side, which has called for him to demand an end to the war and to stop providing military aid to Israel.
Netanyahu recently disbanded the wartime cabinet. He is still beholden to the ultranationalist members of his coalition, whose wartime strategies are strongly opposed by most international leaders, and is facing questions from military leaders about war strategy.
The spokesman for Israel’s military has said the idea of eliminating Hamas “is wrong” because the group “is an idea,” which seemingly was an indirect criticism of the lack of public planning for how Israel will wind down the war and what happens after it ends.
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Netanyahu’s office indirectly responded to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari’s comments, saying, “The Security Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities as one of the goals of the war. The IDF, of course, is committed to this.”
He said Israel will have some role to play in preventing a “resurgent terrorist effort” while there will also be “a civilian administration to administer not only the distribution of humanitarian aid but also civil administration,” and he believes that should be done “with the cooperation” of Arab countries. There would also be “some kind of deradicalization process” and the reconstruction of Gaza.
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