The United States has postponed an arms delivery to Israel. They do not want Israel to carry out a ground offensive on the city of Rafah. This further increases the tension between Israel and the United States, but America certainly does not intend to abandon its loyal ally.
The American decision was taken last week while negotiations on a ceasefire were still ongoing, says Peter Malcontent, a specialist in the Israel-Palestine conflict and who works at Utrecht University. “America hoped to use the arms supply as a means of pressure, in the hope that a peace agreement would be reached. Or at least that Israel would not start a ground offensive in Rafah. In the short term, that pressure did not seem to help.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reacted strongly to America’s decision to postpone the arms delivery. “If we have to go it alone, we will,” he said in a video message. “If we have to, we’ll fight with our nails.”
Israel dependent on US
“Netanyahu can say that, but Israel is very dependent on support from the United States,” says Middle East reporter Pepijn Nagtzaam. “Israel has fired a huge amount of ammunition over the past six months: rockets, bombs and bullets. It all needs to be resupplied, and most of those supplies come from America.”
Israel has been saying for months that it wants to launch a ground offensive on the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to Israel, that attack would be necessary to destroy Hamas.
The postponed arms delivery would consist of a new stock of heavy bombs, which have already caused much destruction in Gaza in recent months. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a result of these bombs,” Joe Biden told CNN.
In the short term, the delayed arms delivery appears to have little effect on Israel’s plans, Peter Malcontent explains, although American pressure could have an impact in the long term. “Israel can still invade Rafah now. But if that happens, America itself does not want to become complicit in human suffering. What of course plays a role is the domestic politics of the United States.”
In recent weeks, many progressive Americans have been protesting against their country’s support for Israel, and this is also putting a lot of pressure on incumbent President Joe Biden, who would like to see Israel and Hamas agree on a ceasefire or final peace.
America’s desire to end the fighting does not mean abandoning Israel. “Biden is an outspoken ally of Israel,” Pepijn Nagtzaam explains. “If he threatens to stop arms deliveries, that’s a finger raised. But when push comes to shove, Israel and America are still great allies. That bond runs very deep.”
The bond between Israel and the United States is suffering some damage. For example, yesterday the Israeli Minister of National Security posted the message ‘Hamas loves Biden’ on X.
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Most reactions from Israel are negative, but there are also Israeli ministers who react less strongly to America, says Malcontent. “There are voices that are grateful to the United States for their support. And there is a chance that the ultra-conservative politicians in Israel will ultimately be a bit influenced by America’s criticism.”
Largest weapons supplier
The United States supplies by far the most weapons to Israel: between 2019 and 2023, almost seventy percent of international military support to Israel came from the US. With American help, Israel purchased, among other things, advanced F-35 fighter planes. The country has also built up an extensive air defense system, known as the Iron Dome.
Israel uses American weapons not only to attack, but also to defend itself. For example, last month Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel. Through the military support it receives from the United States, Israel hopes to deter enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah (in Lebanon).
In the video below you can see how Israel defended itself against a major attack from Iran last month with advanced weapons.
The United States has been warning Israel for some time about the consequences of a ground offensive on Gaza and is calling for peace negotiations. “The arms deliveries to Israel are actually the only really hard tool that America has to criticize Israel’s behavior,” says Nagtzaam.
In recent months, a large part of the Gaza population has fled to Rafah, because that city would remain relatively safe from Israeli attacks. More than a million citizens now live there. An attack on Rafah would therefore cause enormous human suffering, human rights organizations and experts warn.
The war in Gaza has already left at least 35,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Much of Gaza is in ruins. “An offensive with heavy weapons in an area where there are 1.4 million refugees: it would be disastrous,” says Nagtzaam.
Negotiations are at a standstill
Last week, when the United States decided to postpone an arms delivery to Israel, there was still hope that Israel and Hamas could reach a ceasefire. The deal fell through at the last minute, and Israel immediately launched heavy air strikes on Rafah.
Talks about a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas are now at a standstill. Israel wants at most a temporary ceasefire as it wants to continue its attack on Hamas. Hamas is committed to final peace negotiations with Israel. Israel’s military says it still has enough weapons and ammunition to attack Rafah on the ground.
You can see what the situation is like in Rafah in this video:
The postponed arms delivery would consist of a new stock of heavy bombs, which have already caused much destruction in Gaza in recent months. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a result of these bombs,” Joe Biden told CNN.
Tags: stops arms deliveries Israel Raised finger bond deep RTL News
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