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The Biden administration has reacted furiously to Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism that the US is withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel in its war in Gaza, reportedly canceling a high-level meeting with Israeli officials about Iran in retaliation.
Netanyahu made the claims of an alleged deliberate weapons delay in a video posted on X, suggesting that Israel’s ability to prevail in the nine-month war with Hamas has been hampered as a result.
Speaking to the camera in English, Netanyahu said he expressed gratitude in a recent meeting with Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, for US support after the Hamas attack on Israel last October that killed around 1,200 and took another 250 hostage. hostages.
“But I also said something else,” he said. “I said it was inconceivable that the administration over the past few months would have withheld weapons and ammunition for Israel — Israel, America’s closest ally, which is fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies.”
Citing Winston Churchill, Netanyahu continued: “During World War II, Churchill said to the United States, ‘Give us the tools, we’ll get the job done.’ And I say, give us the tools and we’ll get the job done much faster.”
The board appeared to dazzle American officials. White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters, “We really don’t know what he’s talking about.”
At a later press conference, Blinken said the only weapons delayed were 2,000-pound bombs that Joe Biden ordered it to be reviewed over concerns about an Israeli plan to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, where up to 1 million people are sheltering.
“This remains under review. But everything else is business as usual,” Blinken said.
The Biden administration finally won congressional approval for a $14 billion military aid package for Israel in April after being held up by the House for months. A separate $15 billion sale of US F15 jets is also on track to proceed.
Biden pushed ahead with aid despite opposition from his own Democratic Party, where progressives have accused Israel of committing genocide in a war that has already killed more than 37,000 Palestinians.
Senior administration officials were said to be furious behind the scenes. Axios, citing two unnamed sources, reported that the bilateral meeting planned for June 20 was canceled to send a signal to Netanyahu.
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The report said US envoy to Israel Amos Hochstein personally delivered the message to the prime minister, telling him his accusation was “inaccurate and incorrect”.
“This decision makes it clear that there are consequences for performing such stunts,” Axios quoted a US official as saying.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council did not confirm the cancellation, but added to the confusion surrounding the Netanyahu video.
“We are working to find time to schedule the next SDG [sustainable development goals] this accounts for directors’ travel and availability, but we have not yet fully finalized the details, so nothing has been canceled,” spokesman Eduardo Maya Silva said in an email.
“As we said at the briefing yesterday, we have no idea what the Prime Minister is talking about, but that is no reason to reschedule a meeting.”
Netanyahu is due to visit Washington in late July to address a joint session of Congress in response to an invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close ally of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
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