Vice President Kamala Harris doubled down Tuesday on the Biden administration’s policy of withholding 2,000-lb. precision munitions from Israel as a response to its decision to pursue Hamas terrorists in the city of Rafah in Gaza.
The administration admitted withholding a shipment of weapons after Israel attacked Rafah, and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) accused the administration of slowing the delivery of a wide variety of other weapons Congress had approved.
The decision had no effect on Israel’s decision to enter Rafah — but may have led to additional deaths of Israeli troops, who were forced to enter buildings where Hamas was hidden, rather than bombing them. The buildings were often booby-trapped or filled with Hamas terrorists lying in wait.
Mediterranean Sea (Feb. 28, 2003) — 2000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GBU-32 bombs stand ready for transport and loading on air wing aircraft, in a weapons magazine aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman and her embarked Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) are on a regularly scheduled six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Danny Ewing Jr. (RELEASED)
The decision also encouraged arms embargoes by other countries. It also came as Israel faced attacks not only from Hamas, but also from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as well as a variety of other Iranian-backed terror groups.
Harris touted her support for withholding the weapons in a conversation with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), who urged her to pressure Israel.
“One of the things that we have done that I am entirely supportive of is the pause that we’ve put on the 2,000-lb. bombs, and so there is some leverage that we have had and used, but ultimately the thing that is going to unlock everything else in that region is getting this deal done,” Harris said.
The “deal” refers to a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas, which has resisted every effort at an agreement thus far. The Biden administration wants to use a deal to forge a broader regional peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Harris said last month that she was “open” to discussing a larger arms embargo on Israel, but later backtracked.
The NABJ asked three questions about the Palestinian cause, and none about criminal justice reform, which the group considered “urgent” just four years ago.
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 Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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