Israel Will Not Get Weapons If It Enters Rafa: US
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Washington
- May 09, 2024
- 73
Biden has warned Netanyahu that if Israeli troops enter Rafah, he will stop the supply of weapons to Israel.
According to the Times of Israel report, Biden has said that Israel will have to choose between military operations in Rafah and American weapons.
America has so far stopped a consignment of weapons to be given to Israel. According to CNN, a consignment of bombs weighing 2 thousand pounds was to be sent to Israel. Which was stopped last week. This happened for the first time amid the war that has been going on for the last 7 months.
Speaking to CNN, Biden acknowledged that US weapons have killed civilians in Gaza. America believes that Israel can use bombs supplied by America to attack residential areas of Rafah. Whereas America does not want Israel to carry out the Rafah military operation.
On May 7, Israel started military operations in Rafah, the last part of Gaza, after Hamas accepted the ceasefire deal. 22 people were killed in the bombing, including 8 children.
At the same time, Israeli soldiers had also captured the Rafah crossing bordering Egypt. 1 lakh people were warned to leave the area.
At the same time, Biden says that Israel has not yet attacked the residential areas of Rafah. “We have been opposing the attack on Rafa from the beginning.”
US President Joe Biden has been continuously sending weapons to Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7. The US President believes that Israel has the right to protect itself. For some time now, Biden has been facing criticism for providing help to Israel.
There are continuous demonstrations in support of Palestine in American universities. Many American lawmakers had also raised questions on the aid being sent to Israel. For this reason, Biden has had to reduce the arms consignment sent to Israel.
Biden has said that America is not running away from Israel's security. America supplies Israel with defensive weapons like explosives for Iron Dome. So that Israel can defend itself from attacks from the Middle East. But we will not send artillery.
He said he had already told Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders that attacks on populated areas in Rafah would limit US aid to Israel.
On the US stopping the shipment of bombs, Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari said, "Allies resolve any disagreements behind the scenes. America has been our ally from the beginning. We are committed to protecting Israel's security interests." "And we also pay attention to US interests in the region."
Amidst these statements of Biden, an Israeli minister Ben Gvir made a tweet. In this, Gvir simply wrote, 'Hamas loves Biden'. Actually, Ben Gvir is from Israel's far-right party. His party is running a coalition government in Israel with Netanyahu.
Despite America's opposition, Israel has started military operation in Rafa. On Tuesday, April 7, the Israeli army entered the Rafah area of southern Gaza with tanks. It has captured Gaza's border with Egypt. However, the Israeli army has also said that it will evacuate more than 1 lakh people from Rafah.