The flow of US arms to Israel is critical for ensuring an IDF victory over Hamas in Gaza and preventing a third Lebanon war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Punchbowl News on Friday.
“Now, this is crucial [to have this supply of arms]. It’s crucial for our common war aims to defeat Hamas and to prevent an escalation in Lebanon [that could turn into] a full-fledged war,” he said.
Netanyahu spoke after he published an English-language video in which he accused the Biden administration of withholding arms to Israel. The next day, he posted on X that the US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, had assured him that the arms would be delivered.
The White House and the State Department dismissed his claim as inaccurate, noting that the Biden administration has provided arms to Israel for its war in Gaza and that only one shipment had been held up.
Netanyahu’s video statement has also been associated with reported delays in the bureaucratic process for the sale of F-15s to Israel. The fighter jets are only slated to arrive in 2028 or 2029.
On Friday, he explained that “there has been a great slowdown in the provision of important ammunition and weapons,” but clarified, “I’m not talking about F-35s or F-16s that are years down the line.”
'What is necessary now'
“I’m talking about what is necessary now to both win the war in Gaza quickly and to avoid a war in Lebanon where, in the absence of such a correction, the risks of it breaking out are increasing,” Netanyahu stated.
He did thank US President Joe Biden for the support he has given Israel during the war, including his visit to Israel and the provision of arms.
“We began to see,” however, Netanyahu said, “some significant problems emerge a few months ago.”
The prime minister and Israeli officials tried to resolve these with quiet conversation, including raising the issues with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Israel last week.
“I raised this issue with Blinken. And I said that we are being told by our Defense Ministry officials that barely a trickle is coming in. He said, ‘Well, everything is in process. We’re doing everything to untangle it... and to clear up the bottlenecks,’” Netanyahu recalled.
“I felt that airing it was absolutely necessary after months of quiet conversation that did not solve the problem,” he stated.
Netanyahu spoke amid growing escalations in the IDF-Hezbollah conflict, which has sparked fears of a possible third Lebanon war.
Israeli and US politicians have accused Netanyahu of making his comments for short-term political gains at home. A number of Republican politicians spoke out in support of the prime minister.
Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee wrote on X that the White House was mad because Netanyahu was “telling the truth.”
The Biden administration “has refused to send Congress [formal] notifications to finalize a host of arms sales to Israel – [including] F-15s, JDAM smart bomb kits, [and] munitions – even after” the Senate’s and House’s Foreign Relations Committees “informally cleared these sales!” he said.
“The norm is for the Executive Branch to submit formal notifications to Congress roughly 48-72 hours after committees informally cleared proposed arms sales. But the Biden [administration] is violating this norm amid Israel’s multi-front war,” Hagerty wrote.
“It’s shocking what Biden is doing to Israel as our ally faces its darkest hour.”