President Biden’s warning over halting weapons supplies has tightened the bind that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel faces, as he is increasingly caught between international calls for a cease-fire and right-wing Israeli demands to proceed with a wide-scale invasion of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu, who has insisted over American objections that invading Rafah is necessary, now finds the U.S.-Israel relationship at a moment of crisis that could affect how he conducts the next phase of the war against Hamas.
With Mr. Biden threatening for the first time to withhold more American weapons, including heavy bombs and artillery shells, if Israel carries out a major operation in Rafah, a city crammed with about a million Palestinians, analysts say that the Israeli military risks losing the support of its most important supplier of foreign arms.
“The United States provides Israel with a steel dome — it’s not only military support; it’s strategic and political; it’s at the United Nations, the international court, and so on.” said Amos Gilead, a former senior Israeli defense official who worked closely with American security officials for decades. “If we lose the United States with the unbelievable friendship of President Biden, it won’t be forgiven.”
Mr. Netanyahu did not respond directly to Mr. Biden’s comments, but he posted a video on social media of a defiant speech he delivered this week in which he said “no amount of pressure” will “stop Israel from defending itself.”
“If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone,” he said in the clip.
While Israel has enough weapons in its stockpiles to conduct a wide-scale invasion of Rafah, U.S. restrictions could force the Israeli military to cut back on deploying specific munitions, experts said.
