The Biden administration is reportedly exploring the possibility of delaying weapons sales to Israel in order to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back his military assault in Gaza, as per a report by NBC News.
As per the report, the administration is in discussions about slowing down certain weapon deliveries to Israel to urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to reduce military actions in Gaza, based on information from three current U.S. officials and one former official. However, no final decision has been made yet regarding which weapons could potentially be used as leverage against Netanyahu.
While the U.S. has been a supporter of Israel in its conflict with the militant group Hamas, tensions between Biden and Netanyahu have become increasingly public, particularly regarding the control of Gaza post-war and disagreements over a two-state solution. The Biden administration requested $10.6 billion in additional assistance to Israel from Congress last year, but the request remains pending as senators work on a border security deal as part of the package request. Despite this, the Biden administration has approved emergency sales of weapons to Israel on two occasions, bypassing congressional review.
A White House official stated that there has been no request from the White House to slow down weapon deliveries to Israel and that they were unaware of any request to review potential weapons to be “slow walked.”
According to sources at NBC, Israeli officials have been requesting more weapons from the U.S., including aerial bombs, ammunition, and air defenses. There have been discussions about using specific weaponry as leverage to persuade Israel to open humanitarian corridors for civilians. Administration officials are mainly considering slowing down offensive weaponry rather than defensive weaponry like air defenses, and have also looked into providing Israel with more of the weapons it requested as an incentive for them to agree to some of the U.S.’s requests.
The U.S. has been increasing pressure on Israel to scale back its operations in Gaza and take steps to protect civilian life. Officials at the White House have expressed frustration with Israel’s failure to always heed their calls to minimize threats to civilians.
In response to these developments, a national security council spokesperson emphasized that the U.S. has not altered its policy in its handling of Israel and reaffirmed the President’s belief in the effectiveness of the current approach. The spokesperson reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to supporting Israel in its fight against Hamas and emphasized the importance of Israel abiding by international humanitarian law and protecting civilian lives.
The Hill has requested a comment from the Pentagon.
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