On May 8, 2024, we covered how Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed the Biden Admin was Withholding Ammunition From Israel Over Disagreement on Rafah. Biden himself doubled down that same day, threatening to Cut Off Offensive Weapons To Israel If It Enters Rafah.
That threat to cut off all future “offensive” weapons would restrict Israel’s ability to fight not only Hamas, as Israel would have to conserve its weaponary in case a larger war broke out with Hezbollah in the north and various Iranian proxies and Iran to the east.
The political backlash was furious in the U.S., but Secretary of State Anthony Blinken couldn’t care less, he told Israel to “get out of Gaza.”
Well, Israel is in Rafah, though it’s not clear if this is a full scale seizure of the city, Hamas’ last stronghold where much of the leadership is believed hiding with at least some of the hostages.
While it’s unclear what the status is of the paused arms shipment, the Biden administration has approved another arms shipment, according to The Wall Street Journal:
The Biden administration notified Congress on Tuesday that it was moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel, U.S. and congressional officials said, a massive arms package less than a week after the White House paused a shipment of bombs over a planned Israeli assault on Rafah.The latest weapons package includes the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the officials said. There are still additional steps before the weapons would be approved and delivered.The decision to proceed with the approval process underscored the Biden administration’s reluctance to deepen its rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Rafah operation by restricting longer-term weapons deals with its closest Middle East ally.U.S. officials have stressed their opposition to a full-scale Israeli attack in the city, saying it could result in widespread civilian casualties and deepen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis without ending the threat Israel faces from Hamas. But they have registered their opposition so far only by withholding a single shipment of 2,000-pound bombs.
Wonder what changed? Perhaps bad polling?
Biden is, however, reserving the option to stop future shipments already authorized by Congress.
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