Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Sunday on NBC the U.S. is “holding back” specific military aid to Israel after being pressed on President Joe Biden’s “red line” as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues.
Blinken appeared on “Meet the Press” to discuss the warnings Biden and his administration have been sending to Israel over the conflict’s humanitarian impact. NBC host Kristen Welker questioned Blinken on Biden’s “red line” as reports surfaced Tuesday that the administration has withheld weapons from Israel.
As Blinken attempted to claim they do not discuss “red lines” Welker jumped in to note Biden’s May 4, 2024 comment on the issue, prompting the secretary of state to respond that the U.S. has held back certain aid and is in “active conversations” with Israel. (RELATED: Biden’s Biggest Backers Apparently Lash Out After Israel Aid Restricted)
“I want to drill down with you on President Biden’s threat to withhold weapons. What, exactly, is his red line, Mr. Secretary? What would trigger him to say, ‘I am now withholding weapons’?” Welker questioned.
“Look, we don’t talk about red lines when it comes to Israel. We talk, again, about —” Blinken responded.
“President Biden did talk about a red line, though, Mr. Secretary, respectfully. What would trigger him to make that decision?” Welker pressed.
“Sure. So, first, we have been holding back and we’re in active conversations with Israel about the provision of heavy or high payload weapons — large bombs — because of the concern that we have about the effect these weapons can have when they’re used in a dense, urban environment like Rafah. We’re discussing that with Israel right now,” Blinken stated.
“Second, what the president said is that if Israel goes in with a major military operation in Rafah, in that case there are certain systems that we will not provide to Israel that would aid that effort because it’s something that we do not want to be part of given the damage that it would do to civilians and, again, not to achieve a durable, lasting, effective result for Israel and for its security. That’s what the president said — we’ve said that in conversations with our Israeli partners. It’s unfortunate that that leaked out, but the president responded forthrightly to a question when he was asked about it.”
Tensions between Biden officials and Israel increased after reports Tuesday that the U.S. had withheld a shipment of Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Small Diameter Bombs, according to Politico. While Biden has continued to state his concerns over Israel’s operations within Gaza, the president revealed during a CNN interview his red line would be concerning Rafah.
“I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet: They’re not going to get our support, if, in fact, they go on these population centers,” Biden stated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, responded Thursday, stating that regardless of the warnings from U.S. officials, Israel will “stand alone” if they “have to.”