Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday hailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to lift a partial arms embargo the Biden administration imposed on Jerusalem during the war against Hamas.
“Thank you President Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity,” the premier said in a video message.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said that he had lifted restrictions on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.
“We released them today,” he said. When asked why, he replied: “Because they bought them.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday also expressed appreciation to the American leader.
“Thank you President Trump for yet another display of leadership by releasing the crucial defense shipment to Israel. The region is safer when Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” tweeted Sa’ar.
Trump’s decision to resume the shipments marks a departure from his predecessor’s policy. President Joe Biden suspended the delivery of these weapons in May to discourage an Israeli offensive in Rafah. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN then.
A month later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that it was “inconceivable” for the administration to withhold weapons and ammunition during its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“When Secretary Blinken was recently here in Israel, we had a candid conversation. I said I deeply appreciated the support the U.S. has given Israel from the beginning of the war. But I also said something else. I said it’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel,” the premier said in a video message.
“Israel, America’s closest ally, fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies,” Netanyahu continued. “Secretary Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks. I certainly hope that’s the case. It should be the case.
“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,” the prime minister said.
