In an interview with Punchbowl News published Friday, Netanyahu leaned further into the highly public row with the White House.
The Israeli leader defended his initial video, posted Tuesday, in which he claimed to have told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that it was “inconceivable” the U.S. was holding up arms.
“I felt that airing it was absolutely necessary after months of quiet conversation that did not solve the problem,” Netanyahu said.
Speaking of his conversation with Blinken, Netanyahu said he told the secretary that his defense officials had informed him that “barely a trickle is coming in,” referring to weapons.
The White House has adamantly denied that there are any restrictions on weapons for Israel.
Blinken said earlier this week he was not aware of any holdups other than the 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs that President Biden has paused for Israel over concerns about their use in densely populated areas of Gaza.
“There is one shipment of high-payload munitions that we have put under review and that remains under review. That’s not a bottleneck; that’s a policy review,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday.
Netanyahu also said in a post on X that he was willing to “suffer personal attacks” if the weapons would keep coming.
Democrats have expressed concerns about the toll of the Israel-Hamas on civilians. More than 37,000 Palestinians have died in eight months of war.
But Republicans have pushed for the Biden administration to fully back Israel with the weapons it needs and are concerned about Netanyahu’s allegations.
“It is unacceptable for the Biden administration to play politics with Israel’s security,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a statement.
And Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) sent a letter to President Biden criticizing him for holding back weapons to Israel.
“Your administration is engaged in bureaucratic sleight-of-hand to withhold this crucial aid to Israel during a shooting war,” he wrote.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
