WASHINGTON (TND) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday the U.S. recently decided to withhold crucial weapons from Israel, saying the move has no bearing on its “ironclad” support of the Jewish state.
U.S. officials were believed to have paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week to send a “political message” to the country. Defense officials reportedly worried Israel could use the weapons in an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Austin, while testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee, assured lawmakers the decision is nothing to worry about.
“Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad,” Austin said. “We have flowed billions of dollars of security assistance at a very rapid pace into Israel.”“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” the Pentagon chief continued. “But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”
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The decision comes at a time when President Joe Biden is facing intense pressure to act on the worsening conflict in Gaza. Biden on Tuesday decried ongoing campus protests in favor of Palestine, saying "antisemitic posters and slogans calling for the annihilation of Israel, the world's only Jewish state” are “absolutely despicable.”
“It must stop,” the president added.Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Tuesday shared outrage after learning of the Biden administration’s decision.
“I strongly disagree with this decision and it should be immediately reversed,” he said, noting such restrictions “should be on Hamas, its enablers, and benefactors” instead of the U.S. ally.
Sen. Fetterman has been a vocal ally of Israel during its war against Hamas, a stance not shared by some of his more progressive colleagues in the Democratic Party.
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