Israel’s president repudiates ‘irresponsible’ criticism of Biden after US pause on arms transfer

JERUSALEM

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on government officials on Thursday to refrain from making “irresponsible” statements about US President Joe Biden.

Israeli officials opened fire on Biden after he decided to delay arms transfer to Israel over its offensive on Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

“This is a notable opportunity to thank Israel’s allies also today, and especially our greatest ally the United States of America. I would like to say thank you to President Biden who is a great friend of Israel, and who has proved as much from the first day of the war,” Herzog said at a state ceremony commemorating the end of World War II.

“It is important for me to say that even when there are disagreements and moments of disappointment between friends and allies, the disputes should be resolved in a certain way, and it is beholden upon all of us to avoid baseless, irresponsible, and insulting statements and tweets that harm the national security and the interests of the State of Israel,” he added.

Biden said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday that he paused arms shipments to Israel over its offensive on Rafah, where some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have sheltered from Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

"I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem," Biden said.

Biden acknowledged that US weapons have been used to kill civilians in Gaza.

The US president added that Israel's actions in Rafah so far have yet to cross any "red lines" that would prompt him to overhaul his Gaza policy.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala