Moscow
\nThe White House is reportedly becoming increasingly concerned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use his upcoming speech in the US Congress to publicly criticize President Joe Biden and his administration\u2019s response to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.
\nNetanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress next month, and \u201cno one knows what he\u2019s going to say,\u201d an unnamed US official told Politico on Saturday.
\nEarlier this week, the Israeli leader posted a video accusing Washington of \u201cwithholding weapons and ammunition to Israel\u201d for several months, calling it \u201cinconceivable.\u201d Netanyahu defended his public criticism as \u201cabsolutely necessary after months of quiet conversation that did not solve the problem,\u201d in an interview published on Friday.
\nThe claim \u201cwas not helpful at all,\u201d and Netanyahu \u201ccould make it far worse up there in front of Congress,\u201d another senior official reportedly told the outlet. Politico added that the speech could create a \u201cdiplomatically complicated and politically dicey spectacle for a president running for reelection.\u201d
\nBiden has yet to officially invite Netanyahu to the White House during his visit, but officials who spoke with Politico noted that a face-to-face meeting is likely to take place, since refusing would be a major slap in the face.
\nThe White House is concerned that Netanyahu\u2019s rhetoric is deepening the rift between the two allies, according to Axios. While US officials have publicly stated that they \u201cdo not know what [Netanyahu] is talking about,\u201d privately, Biden\u2019s team is reportedly \u201cangry and shocked\u201d at the prime minister\u2019s \u201cingratitude,\u201d with some officials describing him as \u201cunhinged.\u201d
\nThe US paused the delivery of 3,500 bombs to Israel in early May amid calls for it to scale back its assault on the densely-populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. However, despite Biden\u2019s public warnings he would halt arms shipments, the US reportedly kept the majority of other weapons and ammunition flowing. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US proceeded with a transfer of $1 billion worth of arms for Israel in May, the same month it stopped the delivery of bombs.
\nBiden has yet to officially invite Netanyahu to the White House during his visit, but officials who spoke with Politico noted that a face-to-face meeting is likely to take place, since refusing would be a major slap in the face.
\nThe White House is concerned that Netanyahu\u2019s rhetoric is deepening the rift between the two allies, according to Axios. While US officials have publicly stated that they \u201cdo not know what [Netanyahu] is talking about,\u201d privately, Biden\u2019s team is reportedly \u201cangry and shocked\u201d at the prime minister\u2019s \u201cingratitude,\u201d with some officials describing him as \u201cunhinged.\u201d
\nThe US paused the delivery of 3,500 bombs to Israel in early May amid calls for it to scale back its assault on the densely-populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. However, despite Biden\u2019s public warnings he would halt arms shipments, the US reportedly kept the majority of other weapons and ammunition flowing. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US proceeded with a transfer of $1 billion worth of arms for Israel in May, the same month it stopped the delivery of bombs.
\nIsrael declared war on Hamas after militants killed around 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages in a surprise attack on October 7. More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the months of fighting that followed, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry.
\nLast week, CBS News reported that Washington was growing \u201cincreasingly concerned\u201d over the possibility of the Israel-Hamas war spiraling into a larger Middle East conflict involving Hezbollah and potentially American troops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow The White House is reportedly becoming increasingly concerned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use his upcoming speech in the US Congress to publicly criticize President Joe Biden and his administration\u2019s response to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress next month, and \u201cno one knows what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-414106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n