Behind Biden's Israel weapons pause: a defiant Netanyahu, a tense phone call

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Wash ington, U.S., April 4, 2024. The White House/Handout via REUTERS/File photo WASH INGTON, May 9 -

While Biden's weapons pause is nowhere near as severe as President Ronald Reagan's 1982 ban of cluster bomb sales to Israel, it is a turning point"This isn't a halt to all offensive weapons sales to Israel, but it's a ratcheting up the pressure that the U.S. really doesn't want the Rafah operation," said Bruce Riedel, a 30-veteran of the CIA and now a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution.

Top U.S. officials from Biden on down spent weeks publicly and privately stressing Israel should outline a plan for Rafah that would minimize harm to the hundreds of thousands sheltered there after fleeing Israeli bombing in the north. Last week U.S. officials said the Israelis had given them a broad brush idea of what they were planning in Rafah but did not provide a full-blown concept on how to protect Gaza civilians, a key U.S. demand.

RULES:USA-ELECTION-CANDIDATES RULES:ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS RULES:HEADLINEROW-TOP ANV EREP AID ANLINS CWP DEF DEFBUY DIP GEN HUMA NGO POL POTUS WAR WASH IL AMERS SWASIA US MEAST NAMER EMEA ASXPAC EMRG ASIA PACKAGE:US-TOP-NEWS PACKAGE:WORLD-NEWS TOPNWS TOPCMB

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Middle East conflict live updates: Netanyahu says Israel can ‘stand alone’ after Biden threatens arms haltIn his first threat to withhold U.S. military aid, President Biden also acknowledged that American bombs used by Israel have killed civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

Netanyahu says Israel ‘will stand alone’ if necessary after Biden threatens to withhold weaponsIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will 'fight tooth and nail' to defeat Hamas, with or without support from the U.S.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

‘Israel will stand alone’: Netanyahu signals what he thinks of Biden’s Rafah redlineIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implicitly reacted to President Joe Biden's threat to halt offensive military aid to Israel.
Source: dcexaminer - 🏆 6. / 94 Read more »

Biden vows to withhold weapons from Israel if Netanyahu goes forward with Rafah invasionIn an interview with CNN, President Biden said he would withhold weapons from Israel if the Jewish State went forward with its invasion of the highly-populated city of Rafah.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

Biden's limit on bomb shipments to Israel may finally get Netanyahu's attentionPresident Biden's decision to delay arms shipment to Israel is a very small and belated gesture that may nevertheless make a point.
Source: latimes - 🏆 11. / 82 Read more »

Biden warns Netanyahu against Rafah invasion as Israel prepares for actionPresident Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone on Monday, warning the prime minister against continuing with plans for an invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »