Benjamin Netanyahu used a days-old clip of a speech in which he vowed Israel will not bow to international pressure on the war with Hamas following President Joe Biden‘s ultimatum regarding U.S. military aid.
“Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction,” Netanyahu said during the speech he gave at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Jerusalem days ago. “I say to the leaders of the world — no amount of pressure, no decision from any international forum, will stop Israel from defending itself.”
He chose not to provide a new statement, hours after Biden announced he would halt offensive military aid transfers to Israel if they carried out a full ground invasion of Rafah, a Gaza city along its southern border with Egypt, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering after fleeing their homes in the war.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — 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 — that deal with that problem,” Biden said in a CNN interview.
The United States is among a large group of countries that have publicly opposed an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah due to the possibility that it could result in significant numbers of civilian casualties and destroy the humanitarian aid infrastructure international entities have set up in the area for the refugees.
Days ago, Israeli forces issued an evacuation order for parts of Rafah, and have begun limited ground operations there.
Israeli reaction to Biden ultimatum
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, posted on social media, “Hamas [loves] Biden,” with a heart emoji. Ben Gvir has largely been critical of the U.S.’s defense of Palestinian civilians and urged Israeli forces to go ahead into Rafah unencumbered.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant didn’t directly address Biden directly, but he provided a message to the country’s allies and enemies during a ceremony ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day.
“I say from here to Israel’s enemies and its best friends, the State of Israel cannot be subdued, not the IDF, not the Defense Ministry, not the defense establishment, not the State of Israel. We will stand, we will achieve our goals, we will hit Hamas, we will destroy Hezbollah, and we will bring security,” he said.
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Last week, the administration paused a weapons transfer of thousands of bombs due to concerns of the destruction these weapons could cause if deployed against targets in Rafah.
The U.S. is “currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who appeared in front of a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday, said.
