21-6-2024 (WASHINGTON) Tensions between the United States and Israel, two longstanding allies, have escalated as the White House expressed “deep disappointment” over criticism leveled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the Biden administration’s stance on the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The rare public rebuke came in response to Netanyahu’s remarks on Tuesday, where he alleged that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him that the U.S. was working to lift restrictions on arms deliveries to Israel. Blinken, however, declined to confirm such an exchange, further fueling the diplomatic rift.
In an English-language video address, Netanyahu went as far as to state that it was “inconceivable” that Washington had been withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel over the past few months, a claim that the White House vehemently rejected.
During a briefing with reporters, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby addressed the comments, stating that the U.S. had directly conveyed its displeasure to Israeli counterparts. “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,” Kirby said.
He firmly refuted Netanyahu’s assertion, emphasizing, “The idea that we had somehow stopped helping Israel with their self-defence needs is absolutely not accurate.”
The tensions come as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held meetings with Netanyahu’s top aides, Tzachi Hanegbi and Ron Dermer, to discuss the Gaza conflict and other issues. Similar talks were expected between Blinken and the Israeli officials as part of a larger, more formal “strategic dialogue” meeting that was being rescheduled.
Blinken, while acknowledging that weapons shipments – with the exception of one involving large bombs – were proceeding as usual given Israel’s security threats beyond Gaza, including from Hezbollah and Iran, declined to comment on his private exchange with Netanyahu during a news conference on Tuesday.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller shed light on the matter, stating, “There is one shipment of high payload munitions that we have put under review and that remains under review. That’s not a bottleneck. That’s a policy review.”
The United States had paused a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs in May due to concerns over the impact they could have in densely populated areas, but Israel was still due to receive billions of dollars worth of U.S. weaponry.
As the Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has soared to above 37,000, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave, scrutiny on Israel’s conduct in its military operation has intensified. The war began when Palestinian Hamas militants stormed across the border and attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
President Biden had previously warned Israel in April that the U.S. would stop supplying it with weapons if Israeli forces made a major invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that is the last refuge for many displaced by the war.
