Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensified his sharp criticism of the U.S. on Sunday morning, asserting a "dramatic decline" in the supply of munitions from Washington to Israel, despite public denials from senior American officials. A White House source clarified that the U.S. stance has not changed, while subtly rebuking Netanyahu amid Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's visit to Washington.
"Our position on the matter has been clear, and we do not intend to respond to every political statement by the prime minister," said the source, adding: "We look forward to constructive discussions between Defense Minister Gallant and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week." Another U.S. official criticized Netanyahu."His repeated remarks are unhelpful. He is causing tremendous damage and shows ingratitude," the official said.
Politico reported that the White House is apprehensive about Netanyahu's potential speech, suspecting he might use the platform to criticize Biden, who is currently campaigning for re-election against Donald Trump.
"The video this week didn't help at all, and it could be much worse in front of Congress," a senior official said, referring to a video in which Netanyahu criticized the U.S. for "withholding weapons and ammunition," which led to American outrage.
Another source was even more blunt: "No one knows what he is going to say." In Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu addressed the controversy and did not back down. "About four months ago, there was a dramatic decline in the supply of munitions from the U.S. to Israel. For weeks, we approached our American friends, requesting to expedite the shipments. We did this repeatedly. We did this at the highest levels and at all levels, and I want to emphasize - we did this behind closed doors," he said.
"We received various explanations, but one thing we didn't get: the basic situation did not change. Certain items arrived in dribs and drabs, but the bulk of the munitions remained behind. After months of no change in this situation, I decided to make it public," Netanyahu explained, arguing that it was "essential to break the bottleneck."
Conversely, the White House claimed: "It is not true that the transfer of ammunition to Israel has decreased." According to a senior U.S. official, the only delay involves a shipment of 900-kilogram bombs.
Netanyahu's words notwithstanding, tensions between him and POTUS are nearing a crescendo. Another indication of this growing tension is the fact that the White House has not yet sent an official invitation to Netanyahu for a meeting with the American president during his planned visit to Washington.
However, sources indicated that such an invitation would likely be sent, noting that not having a meeting would be "a real slap in the face," and Biden does not intend to take such a step. An American official reiterated that Netanyahu's repeated remarks are unhelpful and that he is "causing tremendous damage and primarily showing ingratitude."