Biden-Netanyahu rift raises questions about US weapons to Israel
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - A deepening rift between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Gaza red lines has set up a potential showdown between the two leaders and raised questions about whether the U.S. might restrict military aid if Israel goes ahead with a ground offensive in the south of the enclave.
Strains between Biden and Netanyahu have added momentum to discussions within the U.S. administration about how it could use its leverage to convince Israel to do more to facilitate humanitarian relief to Gaza and avoid further heavy Palestinian civilian casualties in its war against Hamas, U.S. officials say.
Biden's greatest source of leverage is the U.S. supply of weapons. He has resisted using it, despite Netanyahu’s defiant response to Washington’s entreaties and increased calls from some of the president’s fellow Democrats.
But with Biden showing mounting signs of frustration with Netanyahu, U.S. officials have not ruled out a possible shift in policy that could include putting conditions on military aid if Israel carries out its threatened invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Biden’s 2024 re-election bid has complicated his efforts to craft strategy. Aides recognize that he needs to avoid giving Republicans an issue to seize on with pro-Israel voters, while
also halting the erosion of support from some progressive Democrats dismayed by his strong backing for Israel.
Any decision by Biden, who has called himself a "Zionist," to get tough with Israel would run counter to his decades-old history as an ardent supporter of the country.
"No matter how you cut it, Biden is in a bind on how to deal with this crisis," said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations.
There are no indications that any decisions have been made about restrictions on weapons supplies in the event of a Rafah invasion, which Biden has warned must not happen
without an Israeli plan for protecting civilians there. More than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering in the Rafah area.
Biden may have hinted at his thinking in an MSNBC interview over the weekend when, after insisting a Rafah invasion would be a "red line," he said the defense of Israel is "critical" and there is no way "I’m going to cut off all weapons so that they don’t have the Iron Dome (missile defense system) to protect them."
Biden did not explicitly make such assurances about offensive weapons, adding to speculation in media reports that such arms could be included if he were to impose conditions on Israel, which relies heavily on U.S.-made equipment.