The White House canceled a high-level US-Israel meeting on Iran scheduled for Thursday after Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu released a video on Tuesday alleging the US was withholding military aid, two US officials told Axios’ Barak Ravid.

 

President Joe Biden’s senior advisers were incensed by the video, a sentiment that US envoy Amos Hochstein conveyed directly to Netanyahu in a meeting shortly after the video’s release, according to two US and Israeli sources. In response, the White House decided to escalate the situation by canceling the Thursday meeting.

“This decision makes it clear that there are consequences for pulling such stunts,” a US official stated.

Some Israeli officials were already on their way to Washington when they were informed of the cancellation, as reported by Ravid.

Two US officials told Axios the meeting was called off to send a clear message regarding the video. A third official mentioned that the meeting was postponed rather than canceled, citing scheduling conflicts.

In the video released on Tuesday, Netanyahu expressed shock at the Biden Administration’s actions to delay munitions shipments to Israel during the conflict with Hamas.

“When Secretary Blinken was recently here in Israel, we had a candid conversation, I said I deeply appreciated the support the US has given Israel from the beginning of the war,” Netanyahu said.

“But I also said something else, I said it’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel. Israel, America’s closest ally, [is] fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies,” he added.

“Secretary Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks. I certainly hope that’s the case. It should be the case,” Netanyahu continued.

Later, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Netanyahu’s statement with apparent confusion.

“We genuinely do not know what he is talking about. We just don’t,” she told reporters. “There was one particular shipment of munitions that was paused.”

“We continue to have these constructive discussions with Israelis for the release of that particular shipment,” she added. “There are no other pauses, none, no other poses or holds in place. Everything else is moving in due process.”

{Dov T. Heller – Matzav.com}