Netanyahu criticizes the US for ‘withholding’ weapons from Israel

After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly promised Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would remove all restrictions on arms transfers to Israel in the coming days, the prime minister publicly confirmed on Tuesday that the top US diplomat had given him assurances.

When Secretary Blinken was recently here in Israel, we had a frank dialogue, and I said that I very much appreciated the support that the United States has provided to Israel since the beginning of the war,” he said.

He added: “But I also said something else. I said that it was unreasonable for the American administration in the past few months to withhold weapons and ammunition from Israel. “Israel, America’s closest ally, is fighting for its life, fighting Iran and our other common enemies.”

Netanyahu continued: “Minister Blinken assured me that the administration works day and night to remove these obstacles. And I certainly hope that’s the case. “It should be so.” Blinken was asked to confirm Netanyahu’s statement about their meeting during a press conference in Washington later on Tuesday. The top US diplomat suggested that the Israeli Prime Minister was exaggerating the move taken by the United States, insisting that only one shipment had been held up.

We are, as you know, continuing to review one of the shipments that President Biden talked about regarding the 2,000-pound bombs because we were concerned about their use in a densely populated are like Rafah,” Blinken said. This is still under review.”

He added, “But everything else goes on as usual, again from the perspective of making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself in the face of these multiple challenges.”

In response to another request to confirm theintegrityy of Netanyahu’s statements, Blinken said, “I will not talk about what we said in the diplomatic talks.

The White House rejected Netanyahu’s claims during a press conference held later on Tuesday.

Let me start by saying we honestly don’t know what he’s talking about,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.Aa particular shipment of munitions was temporarily held up, which you’ve heard us talk about several times. We continue to have constructive discussions with the Israelis on the delivery of that particular shipmen,tbutd we do not have any updatet. “There is no further suspension or suspension… Everything else proceeds according to due legal procedures.

In his previous statement, Netanyahu also stressed that increasing US arms deliveries would help end the war more quickly, which is what Biden seeks to achieve, especially in light of theproblematict presidential elections he is running.

“During World War II, Churchill said to the United States: Give us the tools, and we will do the job,” Netanyahu said. “And I say – give us the tools and we will finish the job much faster.”

Unsourced reports published by Channel 12 in Hebrew and Bild newspaper in German on Monday stated that during their meeting last week in Jerusalem, Netanyahu demanded that the pace of US arms shipments return to the level it was immediately after October 7.

Netanyahu also reportedly complained that the massive military aid provided by the United States at the beginning of the war had declined recently and that the United States had practically halted its military support for its ally in the battle against Hamas.

Netanyahu reportedly said that slowing aid plays into the hands of Iran and its proxies in the region, including Hamas and Hezbollah, prolongs the war and increases the risk of it expanding to new fronts.

After Blinken’s pledge, Netanyahu asked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi to ensur that arms deliveries are fully resumed, during their upcoming meetings with American officials in Washingtod.

Last month, after US President Joe Biden threatened to suspend some additional shipments if Israel launched its planned major offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, Netanyahu pledged that if Israel had to “stand alone, we will stand alone.”

At the time, the White House delayed the shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs over concerns that the Israeli military might use them in densely populated Rafah, as had happened in other parts of Gaza.