Biden Warns Israel: No More Offensive Weapons If Rafah Is Invaded
Summary from the AllSides News Team
President Joe Biden stated that he would not send additional offensive weapons to Israel if the country went ahead with its invasion of Rafah.
For Context: Since the Oct. 7 attack, Biden has grappled with divisions within his party, with progressive lawmakers advocating for the Palestinian people in Gaza, and pro-Israel lawmakers pushing for Biden to support Israel and address growing antisemitism. Reportedly, over 30,000 civilians have died in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack. Israel is now beginning to enter the southern city of Rafah, where it is estimated that over one million Palestinians are sheltered. The remnants of Hamas are also reportedly in Rafah.
Key Quotes: In an interview with CNN (Lean Left bias), Biden said that if Israel goes into Rafah, “I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated during a speech this week, “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone, but we know we are not alone, because countless decent people around the world support our just cause.”
How the Media Covered It: The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) reported that the Biden administration intended for the move to be confidential, but the details were leaked by Israeli officials. A CNN analysis stated that the move shows that “even President Joe Biden’s staunch support can reach its limits when it starts to conflict with wider American national security and moral interests.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden’s Rafah warning is turning point in US-Israel relations and a belated — but inevitable rupture — with Netanyahu
US-Israel relations have reached a critical crossroads that shows that even President Joe Biden’s staunch support can reach its limits when it starts to conflict with wider American national security and moral interests — and his own dicey political position.
Biden’s warning in a CNN interview that he’d halt some weapons shipments to Israel if it invades the Gazan city of Rafah marks the most direct US attempt to rein in its ally in a national security crisis since the Reagan administration, and the first significant conditioning of American military...
From the Center
How Netanyahu Pushed Biden to the Edge of His ‘Red Line’
It was a decision President Biden didn’t want to make.
He had warned Israel nearly two months ago against a full-scale assault on Rafah, the Gaza city whose population had swelled to more than one million as Palestinians sought shelter from the fighting. Finally, Biden took a step he had long resisted.
Last week, officials say, he put a hold on a pending shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs to Israel, an almost unheard-of show of displeasure with a Middle East ally that Biden hoped would prompt Prime Minister Benjamin...
From the Right
‘Israel will stand alone’: Netanyahu signals what he thinks of Biden’s Rafah redline
Benjamin Netanyahu used a days-old clip of a speech in which he vowed Israel will not bow to international pressure on the war with Hamas following President Joe Biden‘s ultimatum regarding U.S. military aid.
“Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction,” Netanyahu said during the speech he gave at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Jerusalem days ago. “I say to the leaders of the world — no amount of pressure, no decision from any international forum, will stop Israel from defending itself.”
He chose not to provide...
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