Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Biden administration separately announced progress on Wednesday regarding the resolution of issues surrounding the flow of arms from the United States to Israel.
“During the meetings, we made significant progress. Obstacles were removed and bottlenecks were addressed… [regarding] munition supply,” Gallant stated in a video message from Washington, summarizing his four days of discussions with high-ranking U.S. officials.
In a subsequent press briefing, a senior Biden administration official echoed Gallant’s comments, confirming for the first time that there had been some “bottlenecks” in weapons transfers that are now being resolved.
The official emphasized that these delays were not intentional and explained that Gallant’s meetings in Washington allowed the U.S. to expedite certain shipments and reprioritize others based on Israel’s needs.
These remarks mark the closest the administration has come to acknowledging Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s recent public claim that the U.S. had been “withholding” weapons shipments and that there was a “dramatic drop” in transfers. Netanyahu’s accusation, made in a video statement, angered Washington, which vehemently denied the claim, asserting that only one shipment of heavy bombs was paused because President Biden did not want them used in the densely populated Palestinian city of Rafah.
In his Wednesday statement, Gallant criticized Netanyahu for airing grievances publicly instead of resolving them privately. “In every family — and we consider the American people our family — disagreements may arise. Yet like all families, we discuss our disagreements in-house and remain united,” Gallant said.
Netanyahu’s office responded, claiming that the Prime Minister had tried to resolve the issue privately for weeks before deciding to go public. “When disagreements aren’t resolved privately after many weeks, the prime minister of Israel must speak openly to bring our soldiers what they need,” the statement read.
More than a week after Netanyahu’s video, the White House remained clearly irritated. The senior administration official briefing reporters praised Gallant’s “professional approach” in advancing the U.S.-Israel security partnership, noting Washington’s recognition of Gallant’s personal efforts and leadership.
When asked twice if the U.S. was moving past the dispute with Netanyahu, the administration official avoided a direct answer.
Confirming a report from Axios, a second U.S. official told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu’s video last week hindered efforts to unfreeze the shipment of high-payload bombs, with the administration unwilling to appear as though it was taking orders from the Israeli leader.
The first senior administration official mentioned that both sides agreed to have their national security experts consult on the matter, while acknowledging Biden’s valid concerns about the potential use of the weapons by the IDF.
Regarding other weapons shipments, the senior administration official said, “There are some things we are able to maybe pull up a little faster or reprioritize.”
“The progress made (during Gallant’s meetings) was the ability to sit down with the people who do this work every day and go through every single case and where it is in the system,” the official added. He noted that misunderstandings were clarified, considering the complex U.S. weapons transfer system.
A U.S. team reviewed each of the hundreds of planned weapons shipments with Israeli counterparts, explaining the status of each in the transfer process, the senior administration official stated.
To further explain the apparent slowdown, the second U.S. official noted that Israel had submitted fewer weapons and ammunition requests in recent months as the intensity of its conflict in Gaza decreased.
In the early months of the war, the U.S. had expedited the transfer of weapons further along in the approval process. However, as those shipments dwindled, the process slowed down.
Additionally, some officials in the administration viewed Biden’s pause on the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs as a signal to scrutinize all arms shipments more closely, slowing the process compared to the war’s beginning, Axios reported.
There is also concern in Washington about a potential Israeli preemptive strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the administration fears could escalate into a regional war, the second official said.
Nonetheless, the senior administration official briefing reporters emphasized that the U.S. had sent more than $6.5 billion in weapons to Israel since October 7, including nearly $3 billion in May alone.
National Unity leader Benny Gantz, who recently left the now-defunct war cabinet, supported Gallant’s handling of the situation. “Minister Gallant is right. Over the past few months, we have solved many of the problems with our friends behind closed doors, including on the matter of the munitions,” Gantz said in a statement, noting that he took the same approach during his visit to Washington in March.
“The unnecessary friction the prime minister is creating for political reasons may give him a few points in his [political] base, but harms the strategic relationship with the U.S., which is an integral part of our ability to win the war,” Gantz added.
Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Washington in about a month to address a joint session of Congress. However, he has yet to receive an invitation to meet with Biden at the White House during his visit.
{Matzav.com}
