President Biden’s warning against a halt to arms shipments has tightened the constraints for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he finds himself increasingly caught between international calls for a ceasefire and right-wing Israeli calls for a full-scale invasion of Rafah. in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mr. Netanyahu, who has insisted that the invasion of Rafah was necessary despite American objections, now notes that U.S.-Israel relations are at a moment of crisis that could affect how he is leading the next phase of the war against Hamas.
On Thursday, the Israeli leader said in a statement, alluding to Mr Biden’s comments: “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.” I have said that we will fight with our fingernails if necessary. But we have much more than just fingernails and with the same strength of spirit and God’s help we will win together.”
As Mr. Biden for the first time threatens to withhold more American weapons, including heavy bombs and artillery shells, if Israel carries out a major operation in Rafah, a city of about a million Palestinians, analysts say the Israeli military risks losing the weapons support of its main foreign arms supplier.
“The United States is providing a steel dome to Israel – it is not just military support; it is strategic and political; It’s at the United Nations, at the International Court of Justice and so on,” said Amos Gilead, a former senior Israeli defense official who worked closely with American security officials for decades.
“If we lose the United States to the incredible friendship of President Biden, we will not be forgiven,” he added.
But Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesman, said on Thursday that the military had sufficient “ammunition for its planned operations, including operations in Rafah.”
While Israel has enough weapons to carry out a full-scale invasion of the Gaza city, U.S. restrictions could force the Israeli military to limit the use of certain munitions, experts said.
“We may need to use our weapons more economically and hit more targets without precision bombs,” said Jacob Nagel, a former national security adviser.
Avi Dadon, a former procurement manager at Israel’s Defense Ministry, told Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster, that he “could be concerned” if American weapons were withheld. But at least outwardly, key members of Mr. Netanyahu’s government said the war effort would not be affected.
“I address both Israel’s enemies and our best friends and say: The state of Israel cannot be subjugated,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at a memorial ceremony, adding that the country will do “whatever is necessary” to protect its state to defend citizens and “stand up to those who seek to destroy us.”
Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister, declared that Israel would achieve a “complete victory” despite what he called a “pushback and arms embargo” from Mr. Biden.
Source link
2024-05-09 21:40:37
www.nytimes.com