The Israeli prime minister says the US has promised to work to remove restrictions, but Washington says the bombing is still under review.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for “withholding weapons” from Israel in recent months as it pressed its war on Gaza.
Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday that it was “inconceivable” that the United States was “withholding arms and ammunition for Israel” in recent months.
“Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken assured me that the government is working day and night to eliminate these bottlenecks. I certainly hope that’s the case. It should be like this,” Netanyahu said, referring to talks the top US diplomat held in the country last week.
Washington provides $3.8 billion in military assistance to Israel annually, and in April Biden signed a law giving the US ally $17 billion in additional aid amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
Biden and his top aides frequently stress their commitment to Israel, but Washington confirmed last month that it held a single shipment of 900-kilogram (2,000-pound) bombs for the Israeli military due to concerns about civilian casualties in Israel’s attack on Rafah, in southern Gaza.
The Biden administration has since authorized new arms sales to Israel, according to US media accountsincluding a package worth $1 billion last month.
The Washington Post also reported on Monday that the Biden administration pressured top Democratic lawmakers to approve the $18 billion sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Blinken stressed that the US is committed to Israeli security and continues to transfer arms transfers to Israel through its system on a “regular basis”. But he said controls on heavy bombs remained in place.
“We, as you know, continue to review a shipment that President Biden talked about regarding 2,000-pound bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah,” Blinken said. “This remains under analysis. But everything else is moving as it normally would.”
The White House also denied Netanyahu’s claim that the US has been withholding weapons from Israel for months, stressing that the US only suspended a shipment of bombs.
“We don’t really know what he’s talking about. There was a specific shipment of ammunition that was interrupted,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We continue to have constructive discussions with the Israelis regarding the release of this specific shipment… There are no further pauses – none.”
The Biden administration has faced pressure to suspend its military aid to Israel due to growing reports of Israeli abuses in Gaza, including allegations of attacks on civilian infrastructure, use of starvation as a weapon of war and torture of detainees.
After months of strong support, Biden appeared to draw a red line for Israel in May, warning the country against invading Rafah. He told CNN that the US would not provide bombs and artillery for use in a major Israeli offensive on the populous southern city of Gaza.
Israel launched its attack on Rafah in late May despite US and international warnings, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians – many of whom had already fled other parts of Gaza.
Israeli forces captured and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which served as an important gateway for humanitarian aid.
As Israeli forces continue to pursue their offensive in Rafah, the Biden administration has argued that the military attack does not amount to a “major” operation.
“We have not yet seen them launch what appears to be a major, full-scale military operation – certainly not on the size, scope or scale of the operations in Khan Younis, Gaza City, or elsewhere in Gaza. It has been a more limited operation,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
