The Biden administration has frozen a planned arms shipment to Israel, according to a report , raising concerns among Israeli leaders of a major shift in American policy vis-a-vis the Jewish state.
Two Israeli officials told Axios and Walla that the Biden White House last week froze a weapons shipment to Israel, which includes ammunition and other American-made arms.
If confirmed, this marks the first time the U.S. has suspended arms shipments to Israel since Hamas’ October 7th invasion of the Jewish state.
According to the report, the White House, Pentagon, and State Department all declined to comment, as did the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The report comes as Israel reiterates its plans to enter Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, despite staunch opposition from the Biden White House, which claims Israel does not yet have an actionable plan to protect Gaza civilians.
Over one million Gazans now reside in and around Rafah, more than four times the city’s pre-war population.
Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
During his visit, Blinken conveyed to Israeli leaders the White House’s continued opposition to the planned Rafah operation as it is currently drafted, including a conversation with Netanyahu which two sources described as “tough.”
Blinken warned Netanyahu that a “major military operation” in Rafah would jeopardize Israel’s relations with the U.S.
On Sunday, Netanyahu issued a statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in which he vowed Israel would “stand-alone” if necessary.
“In the terrible Holocaust, there were great world leaders who stood by idly; therefore, the first lesson of the Holocaust is: If we do not defend ourselves, nobody will defend us. And if we need to stand alone, we will stand alone,” he said.
Biden and Qatar have a business partnership
ReplyDeleteThe Biden administration has allowed billions in sanctions waivers that benefit Iran, with estimated billions more in unsanctioned oil sales, which allows the Iranian government to continue diverting money to its drone factories and funding proxy groups, an expert told Fox News Digital.
ReplyDelete"What happens when you end up releasing that money is that it goes into the general funds, which can then be used in lots of different ways," Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), explained.
"If they are using the sanctions relief to fund their general budget, then ultimately [they] are to the benefit of the IRGC because the IRGC partakes in that regular budget," Schanzer said, noting the Biden administration has often argued that any waivers do not ultimately and directly benefit the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).