On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump’s decision to lift a partial arms embargo that had been imposed on the Jewish state by the Biden administration during the war against Hamas.
Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media, “Thank you President Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity.”
On Saturday, while speaking to a gaggle of reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he had lifted restrictions on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel and when asked why, replied, “Because they bought them.” Trump also said the weapons had been in storage for a long time.
In May, then-President Joe Biden suspended the delivery of the weapons because he did not want Israel to go into the Hamas stronghold of Rafah in Southern Gaza. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urged Israel not to enter Rafah. However, the Israel Defense Forces found and eliminated Hamas head Yahya Sinwar in Rafah. The IDF also located and rescued Israeli hostages in the Gazan city, as well as the bodies of hostages that had been killed by Palestinian terrorists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “When Secretary 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. 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.”
He added, “Israel, America’s closest ally, fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies. Secretary Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks. I certainly hope that’s the case. It should be the case."
Netanyahu continued, “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,” according to JNS.
