The Politico website quoted American officials as saying that the White House has become concerned about the content of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected speech to Congress next month.
American officials stated that Netanyahu may use the event to criticize US President Joe Biden “for not sufficiently supporting the Israeli operation against Hamas.”
They said that the statement that Netanyahu delivered in a video clip this week was not helpful at all, and the matter may get worse before Congress.
The website indicated that the White House had not, until this week, sent an invitation to Netanyahu to meet with Biden on the sidelines of his upcoming speech to Congress.
A few days ago, Axios reported, citing American officials, that the White House had canceled a high-level meeting with Israel regarding Iran that was scheduled to be held on Thursday.
The two officials said that the decision came in protest against a video by Netanyahu about supplying the Israeli army with American weapons, with the aim of sending a message to him.
On the other hand, Axios quoted an Israeli official that the White House informed the Israeli government that President Biden’s senior advisors had decided to cancel the strategic dialogue between Tel Aviv and Washington regarding Iran.
Netanyahu’s statement
Netanyahu had criticized the Biden administration in a video recording, and stated that it was unreasonable for Washington to withhold weapons and ammunition from Israel during the past months.
Netanyahu called on the American administration to lift the restrictions imposed on military support for Israel, with the aim of completing the mission faster, as he put it.
He also added in his statement that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken assured him that the US administration is working to remove restrictions on providing weapons to Israel.