US denies nixing meeting after Netanyahu claims Biden’s withholding weapons

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused the United States of withholding military aid to Israel as its battle against Hamas in Gaza intensifies, a claim the White House quickly refuted.

“When [Secretary of State Antony Blinken] was recently here in Israel, we had a candid conversation. I said I deeply appreciated the support the U.S. has given Israel from the beginning of the war,” Netanyahu said in a video posted to X. “But I also said something else. I said it’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel.”

“Secretary Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks,” Netanyahu added.

Netanyahu concluded his video by comparing himself to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led his country to a victory over Nazi Germany.

“During World War II, Churchill told the United States, ‘Give us the tools, we’ll do the job.’ And I say, ‘Give us the tools, and we’ll finish the job a lot faster,’” he said.

Shortly after the video’s publication, the White House discredited Netanyahu’s comments, saying it had no idea what he was referring to.

“We genuinely do not know what [Netanyahu] is talking about,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in Tuesday’s briefing with reporters. “There was one particular shipment that was paused … there were no other pauses, none, or holds in place. Everything else is moving in due process.”

The White House later denied reports it had nixed a high-level meeting with Israel on Iran that was scheduled for Thursday in light of Netanyahu’s allegations. A White House official told NewsNation the meeting was “not yet fully finalized so nothing has been cancelled.” 

“We’ve been working to find a time to schedule the next meeting that accounts for the travel and availability of the principles, but have not yet fully finalized details,” a White House official said in a statement to NewsNation.

Blinken also countered Netanyahu’s comments from Tuesday during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“We are continuing to review one shipment that President [Joe] Biden has talked about with regard to 2,000-pound bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah. That remains under review,” Blinken said. “But everything else is moving as it normally would move.”

Biden withheld a shipment of 3,500 bombs total — 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds each — to Israel in May to prevent the U.S.-made weapons from being used in a full-scale invasion in the city of Rafah.

“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem,” Biden said in an interview with CNN at the time.

The Biden administration has reiterated that while it is committed to Israel’s defense, the United States will not back a Rafah incursion without a credible plan to protect civilians.