Caroline Conejero
NY
Thursday, June 20, 2024, 9:18 p.m.
The White House is furious with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his statements this week in which he accused the Biden Administration of largely withholding military support for Israel amid its war with Hamas in Gaza.
“No other country is doing more for Israel,” US spokesman John Kirby said emphatically this Thursday, adding that in Washington they feel “disappointed and perplexed” by the attack on President Biden.
Netanyahu’s statement in an English-language video published on
The White House, which has strongly denied the claims, immediately canceled a high-level meeting with Israeli officials on Iran and Lebanon scheduled for this Thursday, a decision that was communicated in person to Netanyahu through special envoy Amos Hochstein. According to sources, the decision surprised the Israeli representatives when they were already on their way to Washington.
Lebanon
The decision was accompanied by a message to Netanyahu that his public comments harm the White House’s diplomatic efforts to prevent the war from spreading to Lebanon.
The new escalation of tensions between Tel Aviv and Washington also surprised Hochstein, who was traveling from Beirut to Jerusalem to meet with the prime minister and inform him about the progress of talks to reduce tensions. According to internal sources to AXIOS magazine, the meeting between Hochstein and the United States ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, was “bad” and focused on reproaching Netanyahu for the irresponsibility of his public comments in the midst of the escalation of the conflict in the north.
There is reportedly serious concern among Biden Administration officials that Netanyahu’s statements could further erode Israel’s deterrent power in the region.
According to a senior official, with these types of public statements, Netanyahu encourages Hezbollah and its main shadow support, Iran.
In fact, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah said on Wednesday that his militia could invade northern Israel if the conflict escalates.
Ingratitude
Privately, Biden’s advisers are furious and dismayed by Netanyahu’s ingratitude. Anonymously told to the media, they described the prime minister in the video as appearing to be “unhinged,” referring to Netanyahu’s agitational tone invoking Churchill in World War II calling for more weapons: “give us the tools, and we will finish the job a lot.” faster”. Netanyahu’s agitation seems to reveal some nervousness on the part of the prime minister at a very delicate moment in the escalation of the conflict.
Former US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, asked Congress on Thursday to revoke its invitation to Netanyahu to speak in Congress following the prime minister’s false accusation. Joining Biden’s defense was the executive director of the Democratic Jewish Council of America, Halie Soifer, who highlighted the more than one hundred weapons shipments to Israel so far. Soifer’s explicit statement about Netanyahu marks the first direct criticism by a leader of the American Jewish establishment of the Israeli prime minister.
Asked by journalists about the arms shipment, Secretary of State Blinken noted that, although a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs is being reviewed for its potential use in densely populated areas such as Rafah, the other shipments are moving normally.
In a statement, Netanyahu said he “appreciates the bipartisan support for Israel” in “waiting for the weapons issue to be resolved in the near future.”
Adding to the tension is an internal administration report that doubts that the Israeli Iron Dome defense system, provided by the United States, will be sufficient to defend Israel in the event of an all-out war with Hezbollah. In an interview with CNN, White House officials noted that Israel plans to move resources from Gaza to northern Israel in preparation for a possible offensive. According to them, the Israeli government also fears that the Iron Dome system will be overwhelmed if Hezbollah carries out more precise attacks.
#Netanyahu #accuses #Biden #delaying #arms #supplies #Basque #Journal