U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in her first solo interview, said she had supported the Biden administration’s decision to pause the delivery of certain munitions to Israel amid the country’s 11-month war with Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the Democratic presidential nominee said that “one of the things that we’ve done that I’m entirely supportive of is the pause that we put on the 2000-pound bombs.”
She offered this as an example of a concrete action the White House had taken to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire deal. “So, there is some leverage that we have had and used,” she said.
“I absolutely believe that this war has to end, and it has to end as soon as possible,” she added.
In mid-June, in a video posted to social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his frustration with the Biden administration’s actions, calling it “inconceivable” that the White House was withholding weapons and ammunition to Israel during a war.
“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,” he said.
While the administration admitted to delaying the 2,000-pound bombs, it denied holding up other weapons systems.
John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, said at the time that the White House didn’t understand what Netanyahu was talking about.
“It was perplexing to say the least, certainly disappointing, especially given that no other country is doing more to help Israel defend itself against the threat by Hamas and, quite frankly, other threats that they’re facing in the region, than the United States,” said Kirby.
However, two days after Netanyahu’s remarks, Republican Senators Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) accused the White House of delaying arms to Israel.
Hagerty said that the Biden administration “has refused to send Congress formal notifications to finalize a host of arms sales to Israel,” including F-15 fighter jets, smart bomb kits and munitions, even after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee “informally cleared these sales.”
Cotton accused the Biden administration of engaging in “sleight-of-hand” in response to the White House’s insistence that only the 2,000-pound bombs had been paused.
“As you are aware, the Arms Export Control Act requires the administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country,” Cotton wrote.
“Your administration has manipulated this requirement by withholding this formal notification to Congress of approved weapons sales, including F-15s, tactical vehicles, 120-mm mortars, 120-mm tank rounds, joint direct attack munitions and small diameter bombs.
“Your administration can then claim that the weapons are ‘in process’ while never delivering them,” he said. “You’re playing politics with the nation’s honor and our ally’s security.”
