Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment directly on Biden’s remarks, however, as of Thursday afternoon reposted A video from his speech earlier this week at X: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”
Meanwhile, members of his far-right government were quick to express their anger at the threat.
Right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gave a short but sharp response in an article he wrote in X. “Hamas ❤️ Biden,” he said. His office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for further comment.
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionist Party, accused In a thread about the “arms embargo,” Biden wrote to X that Israel “will win this war completely despite President Biden’s withdrawal.”
“We simply have no choice, because this war is an existential war, and anything short of total victory will jeopardize the existence of the Jewish state,” Smotrich said.
The country’s president, Isaac Herzog, tried to soften the backlash in comments admonishing right-wing ministers.
Thanking Biden for being a “great friend of the State of Israel,” he said, “Even when there are moments of disagreement and frustration among friends and allies, there is a way to resolve disputes, and we all have a duty to do so.” avoid statements and tweets”.
Israeli military experts also expressed concern over Biden’s statement.
Kobe, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, said he had a “difficult understanding” of Michael Biden’s approach.
“He is committed to Israel’s security by supplying Iron Dome and Arrow interceptors … but not a sophisticated 2,000-pound bomb that would allow the IDF to attack Hamas,” he told NBC News. “What does that mean?”
“Israel is only allowed to defend itself from the ground by intercepting missiles and rockets, but is not allowed to defend itself by attacking the source and generators of terror in Gaza or elsewhere?” Michael said Wednesday morning.
In a phone interview before Biden’s comments on Tuesday, Michael said the US decision to freeze arms shipments was already a “disturbing signal” and reflected “the depth of tensions between Israel and the US.”
An Israeli official told NBC News that the Israeli government is deeply disappointed by the Biden administration’s decision to halt the shipment. The US, which included 2,000-pound bombs, was concerned that they would be used to lethal effect in a dense urban area.
“Civilians have died in Gaza as a result of these bombs and their pursuit of population centers,” Biden said in an interview with CNN when answering a question about the blocked shipment.
His administration has faced increasing scrutiny for continuing to send weapons to Israel despite the growing death toll in the enclave, and there has been little transparency about the amount of ammunition the US has sent to Israel since the war began seven months ago.
Alex Plitsas, a member of the Atlantic Council and a military intelligence expert, said Israel already has a significant arsenal, so it would be unlikely that a halt to arms transfers would stop any expanded military offensive in Rafah. In a phone interview Wednesday, he said the decision was largely “symbolic.”
“It’s not really going to affect ground operations in Gaza,” he said, adding that he believes the Biden administration ultimately wants to “voice its displeasure” with Israel’s plans. But he noted that if the trend continues, future halted shipments could have a more serious impact on Israel’s operations in Gaza.
This is not the first time that the US has suspended military aid from Israel.
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan imposed a six-year ban on the sale of cluster munitions to Israel after a congressional investigation found that Israel had used them in populated areas in its 1982 attack on Lebanon.