The Biden administration has responded angrily to Trump’s criticism Benjamin Netanyahu that the US is withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel in its war in Gaza, and has reportedly canceled a high-level meeting with Israeli officials on Iran in retaliation.
Netanyahu made the claims about an allegedly deliberate arms delay in a video on
Speaking to the camera in English, Netanyahu expressed his gratitude during a recent meeting Anthony Blinkenthe US Secretary of State, for US support since Hamas’s attack on Israel last October, which killed around 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage.
“But I also said something else,” he said. “I said it is unthinkable that the administration has withheld arms and ammunition from Israel in recent months – Israel, America’s closest ally, who was fighting for its life, fighting Iran and our other common enemies.”
Invoking Winston Churchill, Netanyahu continued: “During World War II, Churchill said to the United States, ‘Give us the resources, we will get the job done.’ And I say: give us the resources, and we will get the job done a lot faster.”
The broadside seemed to blind US officials. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “We really don’t know what he’s talking about.”
Related: Israel’s Foreign Minister says the decision on all-out war against Hezbollah is near
At a later news conference, Blinken said the only weapons delayed were 2,000-pound bombs Joe Biden had ordered the review over concerns about an Israeli plan to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, where up to 1 million people are sheltering.
“That is still being investigated. But everything else is moving as it normally would,” Blinken said.
The Biden administration finally won congressional approval of a $14 billion military aid package for Israel in April after months of delays in the House of Representatives. There will also be a separate sale of US F15 aircraft worth $15 billion.
Biden has pressed ahead with aid despite opposition within his own Democratic party, where progressives have accused Israel of committing genocide in a war that has now killed more than 37,000 Palestinians.
Senior government officials are said to be angry behind the scenes. Axios reported, citing two unnamed sources, that a bilateral meeting scheduled for June 20 had been canceled to send a message to Netanyahu.
According to the report, the US envoy to Israel, Amos Hochstein, personally delivered the message to the prime minister and told him that his accusation was “inaccurate and out of line.”
“This decision makes clear that there are consequences for pulling such stunts,” Axios quoted a US official as saying.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson did not confirm the cancellation but added to the confusion over Netanyahu’s video.
“We have been working on finding a time to plan the next SDG [sustainable development goals] that takes into account clients’ travel and availability, but the details have not yet been fully finalized, so nothing has been canceled,” the spokesperson, Eduardo Maia Silva, said in an email.
“As we said in the briefing yesterday: we have no idea what the Prime Minister is talking about, but that is no reason to reschedule a meeting.”
Netanyahu will visit Washington in late July to address a joint session of Congress, responding to an invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close ally of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
