Biden says U.S. won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally

President
Joe
Biden
said
Wednesday
that
he
would
not
supply
offensive
weapons
that
Israel
could
use
to
launch
an all-out
assault
on
Rafah —
the
last
major
Hamas
stronghold
in
Gaza
—
over
concern
for
the
well-being
of
the
more
than
1
million
civilians
sheltering
there.

Biden,
in
an
interview
with
CNN,
said
the
U.S.
was
still
committed
to
Israel’s
defense
and
would
supply
Iron
Dome
rocket
interceptors
and
other
defensive
arms,
but
that
if
Israel
goes
into
Rafah,
“we’re
not
going
to
supply
the
weapons
and
artillery
shells
used.”

The
U.S.
has
historically
provided
enormous
amounts
of
military
aid
to
Israel.
That
has
only
accelerated
in
the
aftermath
of
Hamas’
Oct.
7
attack
that
killed
some
1,200
in
Israel
and
led
to
about
250
being
taken
captive
by
militants.
Biden’s
comments
and
his
decision
last
week
to
pause
a
shipment
of
heavy
bombs
to
Israel
are
the
most
striking
manifestations
of
the
growing
daylight
between
his
administration
and
Israel
Prime
Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu’s
government.
Biden
has
said
that
Israel
needs
to
do
far
more
to
protect
the
lives
of
civilians
in
Gaza.

The
shipment
was
supposed
to
consist
of
1,800
2,000-pound
(900-kilogram)
bombs
and
1,700
500-pound
(225-kilogram)
bombs,
according
to
a
senior
U.S.
administration
official
who
spoke
on
the
condition
of
anonymity
to
discuss
the
sensitive
matter.
The
focus
of
U.S.
concern
was
the
larger
explosives
and
how
they
could
be
used
in
a
dense
urban
area.

“Civilians
have
been
killed
in
Gaza
as
a
consequence
of
those
bombs
and
other
ways
in
which
they
go
after
population
centers,”
Biden
told
CNN.
“I
made
it
clear
that
if
they
go
into
Rafah
—
they
haven’t
gone
in
Rafah
yet
—
if
they
go
into
Rafah,
I’m
not
supplying
the
weapons
that
have
been
used
historically
to
deal
with
Rafah,
to
deal
with
the
cities,
that
deal
with
that
problem.”

Defense
Secretary
Lloyd
Austin
earlier
Wednesday
confirmed
the
weapons
delay,
telling
the
Senate
Appropriations
subcommittee
on
defense
that
the
U.S.
paused
“one
shipment
of
high
payload
munitions.”

“We’re
going
to
continue
to
do
what’s
necessary
to
ensure
that
Israel
has
the
means
to
defend
itself,”
Austin
said.
“But
that
said,
we
are
currently
reviewing
some
near-term
security
assistance
shipments
in
the
context
of
unfolding
events
in
Rafah.”

It
also
comes
as
the
Biden
administration
is due
to
deliver
a
first-of-its-kind
formal
verdict this
week
on
whether
the airstrikes
on
Gaza
and
restrictions
on
delivery
of
aid have
violated
international
and
U.S.
laws
designed
to
spare
civilians
from
the
worst
horrors
of
war.
A
decision
against
Israel
would
further
add
to pressure
on
Biden to
curb
the
flow
of
weapons
and
money
to
Israel’s
military.

Biden
signed
off
on
the
pause
in
an
order
conveyed
last
week
to
the
Pentagon,
according
to
U.S.
officials
who
were
not
authorized
to
comment
on
the
matter.
The
White
House
National
Security
Council
sought
to
keep
the
decision
out
of
the
public
eye
for
several
days
until
it
had
a
better
understanding
of
the
scope
of
Israel’s
intensified
military
operations
in
Rafah
and
until
Biden
could
deliver
a
long-planned
speech
on
Tuesday
to
mark
Holocaust
Remembrance
Day.

Biden’s
administration
in
April
began
reviewing
future
transfers
of
military
assistance
as
Netanyahu’s
government
appeared
to
move
closer
toward
an
invasion
of
Rafah,
despite
months
of
opposition
from
the
White
House.
The
official
said
the
decision
to
pause
the
shipment
was
made
last
week
and
no
final
decision
had
been
made
yet
on
whether
to
proceed
with
the
shipment
at
a
later
date.

U.S.
officials
had
declined
for
days
to
comment
on
the
halted
transfer,
word
of
which
came
as
Biden
on
Tuesday
described
U.S.
support
for
Israel
as “ironclad,
even
when
we
disagree.”

Israel’s
ambassador
to
the
United
Nations,
Gilad
Erdan,
in
an
interview
with
Israeli
Channel
12
TV
news,
said
the
decision
to
pause
the
shipment
was
“a
very
disappointing
decision,
even
frustrating.”
He
suggested
the
move
stemmed
from
political
pressure
on
Biden
from
Congress,
the
U.S.
campus
protests
and
the
upcoming
election.

The
decision
also
drew
a
sharp
rebuke
from
House
Speaker
Mike
Johnson
and
Senate
Republican
Leader
Mitch
McConnell,
who
said
they
only
learned
about
the
military
aid
holdup
from
press
reports,
despite
assurances
from
the
Biden
administration
that
no
such
pauses
were
in
the
works.
The
Republicans
called
on
Biden
in
a letter to
swiftly
end
the
blockage,
saying
it
“risks
emboldening
Israel’s
enemies,”
and
to
brief
lawmakers
on
the
nature
of
the
policy
reviews.

Biden
has
faced
pressure
from
some
on
the
left
—
and
condemnation
from
the
critics
on
the
right
who
say
Biden
has
moderated
his
support
for
an
essential
Mideast
ally.

“If
we
stop
weapons
necessary
to
destroy
the
enemies
of
the
state
of
Israel
at
a
time
of
great
peril,
we
will
pay
a
price,”
said
Sen.
Lindsey
Graham,
R-S.C.,
his
voice
rising
in
anger
during
an
exchange
with
Austin.
“This
is
obscene.
It
is
absurd.
Give
Israel
what
they
need
to
fight
the
war
they
can’t
afford
to
lose.”

Independent
Sen.
Bernie
Sanders
of
Vermont,
a
Biden
ally,
said
in
a
statement
the
pause
on
big
bombs
must
be
a
“first
step.”

“Our
leverage
is
clear,”
Sanders
said.
“Over
the
years,
the
United
States
has
provided
tens
of
billions
of
dollars
in
military
aid
to
Israel.
We
can
no
longer
be
complicit
in
Netanyahu’s
horrific
war
against
the
Palestinian
people.”

Austin,
meanwhile,
told
lawmakers
that
“it’s
about
having
the
right
kinds
of
weapons
for
the
task
at
hand.”

“A
small
diameter
bomb,
which
is
a
precision
weapon,
that’s
very
useful
in
a
dense,
built-up
environment,”
he
said,
“but
maybe
not
so
much
a
2,000-pound
bomb
that
could
create
a
lot
of
collateral
damage.”
He
said
the
U.S.
wants
to
see
Israel
do
“more
precise”
operations.

Israeli
troops
on
Tuesday
seized
control
of Gaza’s
vital
Rafah
border
crossing in
what
the
White
House
described
as
a limited
operation that
stopped
short
of
the
full-on
Israeli
invasion
of
the
city
that
Biden
has
repeatedly
warned
against
on
humanitarian
grounds,
most
recently
in
a
Monday
call
with
Netanyahu.

Israel
has
ordered
the
evacuation
of
100,000
Palestinians
from
the
city.
Israeli
forces
have
also
carried
out
what
it
describes
as
“targeted
strikes”
on
the
eastern
part
of
Rafah
and
captured
the
Rafah
crossing,
a
critical
conduit
for
the
flow
of
humanitarian
aid
along
the
Gaza-Egypt
border.

Privately,
concern
has
mounted
inside
the
White
House
about
what’s
unfolding
in
Rafah,
but
publicly
administration
officials
have
stressed
that
they
did
not
think
the
operations
had
defied
Biden’s
warnings
against
a
widescale
operation
in
the
city.

The
State
Department
is
separately
considering
whether
to
approve
the
continued
transfer
of
Joint
Direct
Attack
Munition
kits,
which
place
precision
guidance
systems
onto
bombs,
to
Israel,
but
the
review
didn’t
pertain
to
imminent
shipments.

Itamar
Yaar,
former
deputy
head
of
Israel’s
National
Security
Council
said
the
U.S.
move
is
largely
symbolic,
but
a
sign
of
trouble
and
could
become
more
of
a
problem
if
it
is
sustained.

“It’s
not
some
kind
of
American
embargo
on
American
munitions
support,
but
I
think
its
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,”
he
said.
“At
least
for
now
it
will
not
impact
Israeli
capability
but
it’s
some
kind
of
a
signal,
a
‘be
careful.'”

The
U.S.
dropped
the
2,000-pound
bomb
sparingly
in
its
long
war
against
the
Islamic
State
militant
group.
Israel,
by
contrast,
has
used
the
bomb
frequently
in
the
seven-month
Gaza
war.
Experts
say
the
use
of
the
weapon,
in
part,
has
helped
drive
the
enormous
Palestinian
casualty
count
that
the
Hamas-run
health
ministry
puts
at
more
than
34,000
dead,
though
it
doesn’t
distinguish
between
militants
and
civilians.

The
U.S.-Israel
relationship
has
been
close
through
both
Democratic
and
Republican
administrations.
But
there
have
been
other
moments
of
deep
tension
since
Israel’s
founding
in
which
U.S.
leaders
have
threatened
to
hold
up
aid
in
attempt
to
sway
Israeli
leadership.

President
Dwight
Eisenhower
pressured
Israel
with
the
threat
of
sanctions
into
withdrawing
from
the
Sinai
in
1957
in
the
midst
of
the
Suez
Crisis.
Ronald
Reagan
delayed
the
delivery
of
F16
fighter
jets
to
Israel
at
a
time
of
escalating
violence
in
the
Middle
East.
President
George
H.W.
Bush
held
up
$10
billion
in
loan
guarantees
to
force
the
cessation
of
Israeli
settlement
activity
in
the
occupied
territories.