Christian Smith
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused the United States of withholding military aid to Israel as its battle against Hamas in Gaza intensifies, a claim the White House quickly refuted.
“When [Secretary of State Antony Blinken] I was recently here in Israel, we had a frank conversation. I said that I deeply appreciated the support that the US has given Israel since the start of the war,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on. “But I also said something else. I said it is inconceivable that in recent months the administration has withheld weapons and ammunition from Israel.”
“Secretary (Anthony) Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to eliminate these bottlenecks,” Netanyahu added.
Netanyahu concluded his video by comparing himself to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led his country to victory over Nazi Germany.
“During World War II, Churchill told the United States: ‘Give us the tools, we will do the work.’ And I say, ‘Give us the tools and we’ll get the job done much faster,’” he said.
Shortly after the video was published, the White House discredited Netanyahu’s comments, saying it had no idea what he was referring to.
“We really don’t know what [Netanyahu] is speaking,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday’s briefing with reporters. “There was one specific shipment that was paused… there were no other pauses, none, or holds. Everything else is moving forward with due process.”
Blink also countered Netanyahu’s comments during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“We continue to analyze a shipment that President (Joe) Biden talked about regarding 2,000-pound bombs due to our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah. This remains under review,” Blinken said. “But everything else is moving as it normally would.”
Biden withheld a shipment of 3,500 bombs in total — 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds each — to Israel in May to prevent U.S.-made weapons from being used in a full-scale invasion of the city of Rafah.
“If they go to Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with this problem,” Biden said. in an interview with CNN at the time.
The Biden administration has reiterated that while it is committed to defending Israel, the United States will not support an incursion into Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians.
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