Top Republicans Lose Their Mind Over Biden Delaying Weapons to Israel
President Biden briefly held up sending weapons to Israel this week, and Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson promptly freaked out.
The Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader sent a rare joint letter to Biden on Wednesday saying they were “alarmed at by media reports that your administration had delayed the delivery of a variety of weapons shipments bound for Israel. This news flies in the face of assurances provided regarding the timely delivery of security assistance to Israel.”
The shipment consisted of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to the BBC, and the delay reportedly came because Biden administration officials felt Israel has not “fully addressed” humanitarian concerns in Rafah, a city on Gaza’s border with Egypt where small amounts of aid have entered the territory, and where civilians from the rest of Gaza have fled during the war. Israel has recently begun a military operation in the city.
Other Republicans also expressed outrage at the delay.
Senator Lindsey Graham said “If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the state of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price. This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can’t afford to lose.”
Republicans seem to be ignoring how Israel has already killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 14,500 children. The Biden administration has said previously that Israel’s military would cross a red line if they launched an operation on Rafah, but now maintain that Israel isn’t crossing that line. A ceasefire was agreed to by Hamas this week, only to be rejected by Israel, making Biden’s public statements and behind-the-scenes towards Israel look foolish.
Flippant statements from Israeli officials over the weapons holdup don’t help, either:
Israeli MK and Likud Official Tali Gottlieb have a message to the US:
— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) May 8, 2024
“The US is threatening not to give us precise missiles . Oh yeah? Well, I got news for the US. We have imprecise missiles. I’ll use it. I’ll just collapse ten [in Gaza]. Ten buildings. That’s what I’ll do” pic.twitter.com/iQ5F3M2uuJ
(A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in response, “Those comments are deplorable, adding senior Israeli officials “should refrain from” these kinds of threats.)
At least one Democratic, or rather, independent senator saw the Biden administration’s decision as a good first step, perhaps towards a bigger move.
Bernie Sanders said:
Given the unprecedented humanitarian disaster that Netanyahu’s war has created in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children face starvation, President Biden is absolutely right to halt bomb delivery to this extreme, right-wing Israeli government. But this must be a first step.
The U.S. must now use ALL its leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, the end of the attacks on Rafah, and the immediate delivery of massive amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in desperation. Our leverage is clear. Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people.”