Israeli officials have slammed the United States and have descended into a bout of infighting over US President Joe Biden’s remarks that he would stop some shipments of American weapons to Israelif a full-scale ground operation is launched into the city of Rafah.
After Biden made his remarks, in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he believed the decision “can encourage the enemies of the State of Israel and the Israeli nation,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the announcement by posting a short clip of a speech he delivered a few days ago, in which he said: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”
Biden’s confirmation the US would halt some arms shipments in the event Netanyahu ordered a major invasion of Rafah marked a stunning turning point in the seven-month war, in which Biden has had to balance his support for Israel with pressure from within his own party to pull back over civilian casualties in Gaza.
The comment from Biden to CNN is a major setback for Israel’s war. The US is by far Israel’s most important and most powerful ally, and without its support, Israel’s firepower and ambitions in Gaza would be weakened.
The Biden administration has for months been putting pressure on Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and to ensure more humanitarian aid can be delivered there.
