US paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says

disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 167 points –
US paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
apnews.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S., a senior administration official said Tuesday.

Biden’s administration in April began reviewing future transfers of military assistance as Netanyahu’s government appeared to move closer toward an invasion of Rafah, despite months of opposition from the White House. The official said the decision to pause the shipment was made last week and no final decision had been made yet on whether to proceed with the shipment at a later date.

13

You are viewing a single comment

Good. Unfortunately it feels like far too little, far too late, and reading the article maybe only a one off thing for a particular shipment. Wondering if the article is just trying to paint the US as pushing back against the Israeli government without actually doing anything substantive.

Pausing arms shipments until Isreal stops doing a genocide has been the most widely requested response - I think this is a win. He may always backtrack but I'm willing to celebrate this.

Any steps away from supplying munitions are good steps. The article states that it’s allowing time for the verdict on the Rafah airstrikes breaking US and International Law. Ruling against Israel would aid in justifying further withdrawal to those that still support Israel. Almost half of Congress and a third of Americans still support Israel’s attacks, likely tied to their sources of media consumption.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-poll-biden-war-gaza-4159b28d313c6c37abdb7f14162bcdd1

Wondering if the article is just trying to paint the US as pushing back against the Israeli government without actually doing anything substantive.