“Israeli” officials warn US that weapons shipment pause could jeopardize prisoner exchange talks

World

Published: 2024-05-08 20:28

Last Updated: 2024-05-19 22:43


“Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US President Joe Biden. (File photo)
“Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US President Joe Biden. (File photo)

Senior “Israeli” officials have expressed their “deep frustration” with the Biden administration over its recent decision to pause a weapons shipment to “Israel” – two sources briefed on the issue told news website “Axios”.

The US decision could jeopardize the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and the Israeli Occupation – the sources warned.


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The move comes amidst the United States’s frustration and worry of a possible full-scale ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah in Gaza which houses around 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

On Monday, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) moved into Rafah and captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah Border Crossing; tearing down the Palestinian flags and raising theirs.

On the weapons shipment pause, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: "We're going to continue to do what's necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself. But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”


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The shipment holdup signals to the increasing tensions between Benjamin Netanyahu and Biden and their respective administrations, which have been festering more and more seven months into the “Israeli” aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Officials warned that if the “Israeli” incursion into Rafah widens and their forces go inside the city of Rafah itself; it will then be "a breaking point" for the US-”Israeli” relations.

The shipment included 1,800 2,000-pound-bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs.