The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios.
Why it matters: It is the first time since the Oct. 7 attack that the U.S. has stopped a weapons shipment intended for the Israeli military. The incident raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held, Israeli officials said.
President Biden is facing sharp criticism among Americans who oppose his support of Israel. The administration in February asked Israel to provide assurances that U.S.-made weapons were being used by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in accordance with international law. Israel provided a signed letter of assurances in March.
Looks like protesting still works.
Once they’re under enough pressure, conservative governments will occasionally grant concessions.
Tell that to a homosexual in Russia or a pregnant woman in Alabama. Democrats might listen. I wouldn’t hold my breath with a Republican in office.
Exactly. Imagine if it wasn’t just Trump but Mike Pompeo that piece of utter dog shit instead of Blinken. They’d be cheering on the bombings faster than Dick Cheney could say WMD while they just laughed at the protesters.
Worth noting: I was describing Biden as a conservative. The GOP is only conservative in the sense that, whether they realize it or not, they want to conserve the monarchy. Their platform is more radical than your local anarchist collective.
Biden has implemented and improved way too many social programs and wealth taxes to be considered anything like a conservative.
Well, the protests technically just called for divestment
They didn’t though. They’re separating Biden from his constituency and he knows it. This is why protesting is important. Well, protesting Democrats. Republicans don’t give a fuck about what you have to say.
Yeah. Maybe centrists should stop calling everyone who does it a Russian trumpist.
Who called the protesters Trumpists? I’m under the impression they’re mostly liberals.
Edit: Oh, it’s you. Yes. Suggesting others abstain from voting to protest Biden is another way of supporting Trump. That’s not what this is. This is a reaction to actual protests.
Suggesting others abstain from voting to protest Biden is another way of supporting Trump.
That’s not what I’m doing and you know it.
Anyway, there’s some good news for those of us who don’t support genocide.
Agreed. Let’s hope this is just the start of withdrawal of support.
We’ll see. I doubt it would surprise you to know that I’m not optimistic.
If true that’s an encouraging development, but I’m withholding judgement until it’s confirmed as true and the reasons behind it are revealed. Whether it’s part of a larger message about offensive aid in relation to Israel continuing to signal an imminent large ground invasion of Rafah, or one of the baby steps of sanctioning individual military units, or if it’s just some logistical holdup.
If it’s anything but the latter the administration really needs to work on their public messaging. Even if you’re playing hardball behind the scenes to reduce harm, continuing with the public line of “We support whatever Israel does 100% of the time every time.” makes anything else ring hollow.
Israeli airstrike that killed seven health workers in Lebanon used US munition, analysis reveals Human rights experts say attack was violation of international law, and that US supplying of weapon defies 1997 Leahy law
Too many Americans think Tony Stark was heroic before the cave.
The US and Israel have both said it was a logistical problem, not a political or legal problem. CNN
Of course you found the absolute worst take that had no real information and all of the conjecture.
The Biden administration paused a shipment of US-made ammunition to Israel, according to a source familiar with the matter, who did not disclose why the decision was made. The hold is not connected to a potential Israeli operation in Rafah and doesn’t affect other shipments moving forward, the source said.
Asked about the paused shipment, a National Security Council spokesperson cited ongoing security assistance to Israel.
“The United States has surged billions of dollars in security assistance to Israel since the October 7 attacks, passed the largest ever supplemental appropriation for emergency assistance to Israel, led an unprecedented coalition to defend Israel against Iranian attacks, and will continue to do what is necessary to ensure Israel can defend itself from the threats it faces,” the spokesperson said.
It was the only article released at the time I posted it. Every other article I could find cited it as the source. That’s so discouraging. I really thought there was hesitation in supply.
It turns out it was in fact withheld due to the pending Rafah attack.
https://apnews.com/article/biden-bombs-gaza-netanyahu-israel-rafah-432aa51e3569d1a73b22273295b1a53f
Well shit. I apologize. But now you’ve got officials saying one thing and then the other. This is usually what we get with the GOP in the white house.
No apology needed. At first it was only that Axios article, without a named source. Then the CNN article stated that the reasons were unconfirmed. This is the first article citing White House officials, and it’s still not a direct communication.
At this point I’d like to hear of an official change in stance, or at least formal condemnation of the Rafah attack, before being certain that this indicates change.
What’s funny is how some are very quick to take credit for this. Doesn’t hurt anybody, but it’s kind of silly.
Biden has sanctioned the Israelis that support Bibi. Biden said there would be ramifications to going into Rafah. Representatives and Senators from both sides of the aisle have urged him to do this very thing because they don’t have enough courage to do it themselves
Yet, when he does it it’s all about protests and he’s asshole.
I’m confused by your comment. Do you believe Biden would have done this without protests?
I don’t believe the protests were a dominating factor to this decision. It’s obvious that Biden doesn’t like Bibi, just as it’s obvious that Bibi is prolonging this war for his own political gain.
Biden definitely doesn’t align with Netanyahu, but he’s been very diplomatic thus far. Netanyahu knows he is not facing reelection regardless of what he does from now on. He had a 15% favorability rating as of January, which has undoubtedly fallen since instigating Iran.
I’m glad that Biden reluctantly listened to the anti-genocide portion of his own party. It’s sad that opposition to genocide is only a faction of the Democratic party instead of the whole thing.
I hope he doesn’t resume arms sales to Netanyahu.
Congress passed an arms package for Israel. Biden has no choice but to honor that at some point.
Oh. Neat. His hands are tied. He has to support genocide like all centrists want.
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Lemme guess, you like your fascism orange flavored with extra classism, racism, and sexism?
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Clearly he’s starting to listen. Keep protesting!
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What does that mean? I don’t follow.
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You wrote so much more this time, and yet somehow made less of a point.
Fascist Joe just doesn’t have a good ring to it, it’s not going to catch on.
Stop trying to make fetch happen, Gretchen.
