In words and deeds, Israel has refused to alter its military strategy to fit President Joe Biden’s most recent ultimatum.
Biden this week threatened that if Israel moved forward with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is the last major stronghold of Hamas, the United States would cut off munitions Israel needs to do the job.
Biden’s comment followed his administration’s decision to withhold some bombs from a shipment of arms to Israel.
But on Friday, Israeli tanks pressed forward to battle Hamas terrorists in one section of Rafah where fighting had begun earlier this week, according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained as pugnacious as ever, declaring: “If we need to … we will stand alone. I have said that if necessary, we will fight with our fingernails,” according to the BBC.
Netanyahu cited Israel’s 1948 War of Independence when the country fought multiple Arab states to survive.
Responding to a question at a press conference, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military has enough munitions for the missions it has planned, after US President Joe Biden threatened that some arms shipments would be frozen if Israel launches a planned offensive in…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 9, 2024
“In the War of Independence 76 years ago, we were the few against the many,” Netanyahu said. “We did not have weapons. There was an arms embargo on Israel, but with great strength of spirit, heroism and unity among us, we were victorious.”
Should Biden be more supportive of Israel?
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, responded to Biden by saying that Israel’s “enemies as well as … best of friends” should understand that his country “cannot be subdued.”
“We will stand strong, we will achieve our goals,” Gallant said.
The Times of Israel said the fighting in Rafah remains what Israel considers part of a limited battle there, while noting that Israeli officials are uncertain if Biden shares that view.
Itamar Yaar, former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council and CEO of Commanders for Israel’s Security, said Biden’s words are largely symbolic – for now, according to The Associated Press.
BREAKING REPORT: ⚠️ Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., Drafts Articles of Impeachment Against President Joe Biden..
Mills charged Biden with pressuring Israel into a “quid pro quo” scenario by using U.S. financial support as leverage over Israeli policies in Gaza. He compared this to the… pic.twitter.com/SWh5jPdd0h
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) May 9, 2024
“It’s not some kind of American embargo on American munitions support, but I think it’s some kind of diplomatic message to Mr. Netanyahu that he needs to take into consideration American interests more than he has over the last few months,” Yaar said, calling Biden’s words “a kind of a signal, a ‘be careful.’”
In an Op-Ed in the New York Post, Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, and Blaise Misztal, the group’s vice president for policy, did not mince words, calling Biden’s comment “one of the worst American betrayals of a close ally in recent memory.”
They framed Biden as more interested in politics than in wiping out Hamas, writing that “the White House determined that to win re-election, the president needed to cater to pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, anti-American Arab-Americans in Michigan and to young Americans with similar views.”
Rockets launched from southern Gaza into Beer Sheva this morning landed on a kindergarten playground with kids in the shelter. Less than 48 hours after Biden declared Israel shouldn’t finish Hamas off in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/lxZwGlz0zM
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) May 10, 2024
“The Biden administration then pressed for a Palestinian state, which is anathema to Israelis post-Oct. 7. It increasingly criticized Israel over Gaza, opposed letting it finish off Hamas’ last battalions in Rafah and pressed for a lasting cease-fire even without Hamas’ release of hostages,” Makovsky and Misztal wrote.
“Biden’s arms embargo against Israel doubles down on this approach.”
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