(NewsReady.com) – Relations between the US and Israel have deteriorated in recent weeks. President Joe Biden recently threatened to stop sending weapons to the Jewish state. New reports indicate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t take that well.
Biden threatened to withhold weapons from Israel if Netanyahu moved forward with the invasion of Rafah. The president is worried about US weapons being used to invade the city, which shares a border with Egypt, because there are more than a million Palestinians taking refuge there. The civilian casualty count of an invasion of the city would likely be high.
On May 9, the day after Biden issued the threat, Netanyahu held a meeting with his security cabinet. According to Axios, the prime minister ranted about the US president.
“We are not a vassal state of the United States!” Netanyahu allegedly raged.
A vassal state is a country that answers to a more powerful nation. Israel is sometimes seen as being under the US’ thumb because it pours so much money into the Middle Eastern nation’s security. Each year, America sends billions of taxpayer dollars to Israel.
Netanyahu also reportedly compared his conflict with Biden to the 1948 disagreement between then-US Secretary of State George Marshall and Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Marshall didn’t think Ben-Gurion should declare its independence, but the PM did it anyway.
The current prime minister alluded to that in his public remarks about the conflict, saying Israel would “stand alone” if need be. Netanyahu and his government believe invading Rafah is a necessary step toward eradicating Hamas. The terrorist organization is responsible for killing approximately 1,200 people during the October 7, 2023, attack and taking more than 200 people hostage.
Netanyahu has authorized targeted attacks in Rafah but the ground invasion hasn’t started yet. Biden is currently continuing to send weapons shipments to the country.
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