A new report appears to confirm earlier claims that the Biden administration has been withholding arms from Israel in an attempt to send a message of disapproval about Israel’s policy of entering Rafah to finish off Hamas terrorists.
Breitbart News reported earlier in the week about claims in other publications that the U.S. had been withholding aid. Israel denied any delay, but the White House gave a noncommittal reply to reporters’ questions in a briefing Monday.
Politico reported Tuesday that the claims appear to have been correct, and referred to specific “smart” bombs:
The Biden administration is holding up shipments of two types of Boeing-made precision bombs to send a political message to Israel, according to a U.S. official and six other people with knowledge of the deliberations.
The U.S. has yet to sign off on a pending sale of Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munitions — both the munitions and kits that convert them to smart weapons — and Small Diameter Bombs, according to six industry and congressional sources with knowledge of the discussions.
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The munitions were ready to be shipped to Israel when word of the hold came down, said one senior congressional aide and two other people familiar with the incident. A third person, an industry official, said the administration told Boeing to halt the shipment since the approval was held up for “political reasons,” and not because of supply chain strain.
In 2019, Democrats impeached then-President Donald Trump for allegedly withholding security funds from Ukraine for political reasons, though the funds were eventually delivered and there was never proof of a “quid-pro-quo.” In this case, the Biden administration is withholding much-needed munitions in the middle of a “hot” war against a terrorist army and other terrorist groups on several fronts, as well as against attacks from their Iranian sponsors.
Biden recently signed billions of dollars in new military aid to Israel, after first proposing a supplemental aid package several months ago, but did not push the legislation for months and tied it to other priorities, like funds for Ukraine.
Israel entered Rafah on Monday after Hamas attacked a humanitarian aid crossing and refused to agree to terms for a hostage release deal. The last four Hamas battalions are said to be in Rafah along with the remaining Israeli hostages.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.