Hours after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant departed for talks with Biden Administration officials in Washington DC, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the reasons for releasing a video message last week that sparked instant, angry denials from the White House and State Department.
In his message last Tuesday, Netanyahu bluntly revealed for the first time that the Biden Administration had been withholding weapons and ammunitions deliveries to Israel, while the Jewish State is fighting for her life with Iranian backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, both proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The one sentence that triggered real outrage from the White House was that which he said he told Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their recent meeting in Jerusalem: “It’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel.”
Exposing such a move by the White House after months of statements by President Joe Biden emphasizing that his administration “has Israel’s back” and is “committed to Israel’s security” was tantamount to an open slap.
On Sunday, Netanyahu explained why he did it, in his opening remarks to the weekly government cabinet meeting.
“I greatly appreciate the support of President Biden and the American administration for Israel,” he said. “Since the start of the war, the US has given us support in spirit and in materiel – defensive and offensive means,” he acknowledged.
“But four months ago, there was a dramatic decrease in the munitions coming to Israel from the US,” Netanyahu stated. “For long weeks, we turned to our American friends and requested that the shipments be expedited. We did this time and again. We did so at the highest levels, and at all levels, and I want to emphasize – we did so behind closed doors. We received all sorts of explanations, but one thing we did not receive; the basic situation did not change. Certain items arrived sporadically but the munitions at large remained behind.”
The Biden Administration move was certainly an unwelcome ‘blast from the past,’ resembling a similar decision by the Obama Administration in the summer of 2014 to slow-walk the delivery to Israel of badly-needed arms and military replacement parts as Israel fought Hamas terrorists in Gaza. As he is at present, Netanyahu was serving as prime minister at the time. Current President Biden was then Vice President Biden, serving under President Barack Obama, who intensely disliked Netanyahu and had little warmth for the Jewish State.
Netanyahu said in Sunday’s remarks that he hoped that focusing a media spotlight on the current situation would change the picture.
“After months in which there was no change in this situation, I decided to give this public expression. We did so out of years of experience and the knowledge that this step was vital to opening the bottleneck.
“I expected that this would entail personal attacks against me at home and abroad, as happened when I came out against the nuclear agreement with Iran, as happened – and as is happening – when I repeatedly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state, and as is now happening when I oppose ending the war while Hamas remains in place. But I am willing to absorb personal attacks on behalf of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
“As the Prime Minister of Israel, my job is to do everything to ensure that our heroic fighters receive the arms they need,” Netanyahu said.
“In light of what I have heard over the past 24 hours, I hope and believe that this issue will be resolved in the near future.
“But I would like to emphasize, and I have said this to our American friends, there is one item we have and it will always be decisive: The heroism and determination of our fighters – and with this weapon we will win.”
Netanyahu has indeed become a target for attacks not only from the political arena on both sides of the Atlantic but also from the thousands of protesters across the country cynically manipulated by opposition leadership.
The desperate protesters’ attempts to effect the release of the 116 hostages held since October 7th by Hamas terrorists in Gaza are being redirected by the left-wing leadership, who are instead refocusing the demonstrators to call for overthrowing the government with spurious claims that this will bring their loved ones home.
No one mentions the inconvenient fact that it is Hamas, and not Israel, that has rejected every deal offered, including the most recent one detailed and praised by President Biden.
Hamas is counting on the protesters to de-fang the Israeli government and its directive to the Israel Defense Forces to rescue the hostages, eliminate the terrorist organization’s ability to wage war and govern, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to the Jewish State.
