The message didn't get through. Not through phone calls, special envoys, public statements or joint committee meetings. So President Biden, frustrated that he was being ignored, chose a more dramatic method to make his position clear to Israeli leaders. He stopped sending bombs.
Mr. Biden's decision to suspend the shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel was intended to send a strong signal that his patience had limits. While insisting his support for the Jewish state remains “ironclad,” Biden uses his power as Israel's main arms supplier to signal dissatisfaction for the first time since the Gaza war broke out last fall. I chose that.
The possession of the bomb marks a significant turning point in the 76-year relationship between the United States and Israel, historically one of the world's closest security partnerships. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a breaking point. The Biden administration is still allowing most other weapons to be sent to Israel, and in fact, officials stressed that no final decision has even been made on the currently stalled bomb.
Biden hopes the selective pause will force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon his long-threatened invasion of Rafah, the southern city of Gaza where more than 1 million Palestinians have fled. There is. The president has opposed such operations, concerned that American bombs could cause widespread civilian casualties. He also said on Wednesday that the shipment of shells that could be fired into downtown Rafah would be blocked.
“I made it very clear to Bibi and the war cabinet that if they actually go into these populated areas, they're not going to have our support,” the president said in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett on Wednesday. said. Netanyahu's nickname. “We are not running away from Israeli security. We are moving away from Israel's ability to wage war in these areas.”
He acknowledged in a way rarely seen before that American bombs killed innocent Palestinians. “Civilians are being killed in Gaza as a result of bombs and other attacks on populated areas,” Biden said.
Israel's plan to attack Rafah has been a source of intense friction with the Biden administration for months. Americans oppose such operations, but Israelis say they need to enter Rafah to complete the annihilation of Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in an October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. are doing.
The dispute has come to a head in recent days as Mr. Netanyahu and his wartime cabinet appeared to be moving closer to a decision against Mr. Rafah, despite U.S. opposition. Administration officials last month began considering possible weapons for the operation, and Biden last week said he agreed to use the bomb bay.
Cliff Kupchan, chairman of Eurasia Group, who has just returned from a trip to the Middle East, said: “This decision means that Mr. Biden is determined to use his only real leverage against Mr. Bibi: withholding arms.'' I will,” he said. “This is a disaster for U.S.-Israel relations because it is starting to affect Israel's security. Biden had no choice. The war is a threat to his campaign, to the unity of the Democratic Party, and to the world.” It's a drag on America's standing.”
The administration initially did not announce it publicly, hoping the suspension would send a quiet message, but the Israeli side leaked it. Within days of this decision, Israel ordered the evacuation of 110,000 civilians in Rafah, bombed targets on the edge of the city, and sent in tanks to occupy the border with Egypt. Although these movements were characterized as limited and not the beginning of a promised attack, they set off alarm in the White House.
Israel's actions, taken as part of its response to last weekend's Hamas rocket attack that killed four Israeli soldiers, continue to put pressure on Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages. Photographed on October 7th.
Whether such an agreement is possible remains unclear. CIA Director William J. Burns, who has been closely involved in the negotiations, met with Mr. Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday as other officials discussed conflicting offers from both sides in Cairo. Analysts said reaching such an agreement may be the only way to avoid a deeper rift between Israel and the Biden administration.
“What they want is for Israel not to make a major move into Rafah,” said Elliott Abrams, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations who served in several Republican administrations. “If there is no hostage deal, I think the Israelis will enter Rafah and cause a lot of tension.”
The relationship between the United States and Israel has been unique since the Jewish state declared independence in 1948 and President Harry S. Truman made the United States the first country in the world to recognize independence just 11 minutes later. There is. However, this relationship for a long time was also marked by moments of deep stress.
Initially, under Presidents Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the United States refused to sell any weapons to Israel. President John F. Kennedy was the first to open up the arsenal by providing Hawk anti-aircraft missiles. President Lyndon B. Johnson expanded the relationship by sending M-48 tanks, A-4 Skyhawk planes, and F-4 Phantom planes.
Presidents have previously withheld aid to Israel to show displeasure or influence policy. President Ronald Reagan repeatedly delayed shipments of fighter jets and other munitions due to frustration with Israel's intervention in Lebanon. President George H.W. Bush deferred $10 billion in mortgage guarantees to prevent U.S. funds from being used to finance settlement construction in the West Bank.
But overall, the United States has provided more aid to Israel than any other country in the world since World War II. As of last year, the United States had provided $158.7 billion to Israel since its founding, a staggering $124.3 billion of which went to military and missile defense, according to the Congressional Research Service. Under a 10-year memorandum signed by President Barack Obama, Washington currently provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid, including an additional $15 billion approved by Congress and signed by Biden last month. Support not included.
On Wednesday, Republicans quickly criticized Mr. Biden after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin publicly acknowledged reports of bomb shipment delays during a Senate hearing. “This is despicable. It's absurd,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told the defense secretary. “Give Israel what she needs to fight a war she cannot afford to lose.”
Senate leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) called the president's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Wednesday morning to express concerns that delays in arms shipments to Israel are just a means to an end. We have expressed this to the government.” He was trying to teach his allies how to wage war. ” He and House Speaker Mike Johnson later sent a letter to Biden protesting the decision.
Meanwhile, Democrats and progressives who have called on Mr. Biden to limit or mutilate weapons to curb Israel's wars are coming after more than 34,000 people, including combatants and civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip. , said the president's action is long overdue and still not enough. .
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic socialist from Vermont, said Mr. Biden's decision was “absolutely correct” but only the beginning. “Our impact is clear,” he said. “For years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Prime Minister Netanyahu's horrific war against the Palestinian people.”
The decision caught the attention of Mr. Netanyahu and his war cabinet. Shalom Lipner, a longtime adviser to several Israeli prime ministers, said this “raised deep concerns within Israel. People were anxious about restricting access to Israeli weapons (a move sure to embolden Hamas)”. But I'm wondering how that fits in with Mr. Biden's usual policies.” -Repeated its iron-clad approach to safety. ”
But he added: “It would be Israel's strategic loss for the Netanyahu government to ignore the loud pushback from its main military and diplomatic aid provider.”
The 3,500 bombs seized last week included 2,000 pounds and 500 pounds of ammunition. The State Department is also considering whether to proceed with deliveries of the Joint Direct Attack Munition Guidance Kit, which can convert so-called dumb bombs into precision-guided weapons, but no shipments are imminent at this time. Additionally, officials said they will continue to provide “every dollar” of aid authorized by Congress' new policy.
Analyst Kupchan said the course of U.S.-Israel relations will determine what happens next. If Mr. Netanyahu follows Mr. Biden's judgment regarding Mr. Rafah, it may only be a temporary flare-up. However, continued conflict between the two leaders could lead to broader arms cuts, which would have a longer-lasting impact.
“The foundations of the U.S.-Israel relationship are so strong that this move will not significantly undermine them,” Kupchan said. “However, it is very unlikely that there will be any further withholding, but that would be a different story.”