US President Joe Biden (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 as anger flared in the Middle East after hundreds were killed when a rocket hit a hospital in war-torn Gaza, with Israel and the Palestinians swapping blame. (
Brendan Smialowski | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is discussing using arms sales to Israel as leverage to get Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to respond to longstanding U.S. calls to scale back its military offensive on the Gaza Strip, according to three current U.S. officials and one former US official.
At the behest of the White House, the Pentagon is reviewing weapons requested by Israel that could be used as leverage, the sources said. They said no decisions have been made.
The sources said Israeli officials continue to ask the administration for more weapons, including large aerial bombs, ammunition and air defenses.
After weeks of private administration requests that yielded less results than the White House wants, the sources said, the U.S. is considering slowing or stopping deliveries in the hope that doing so will prompt the Israelis to take action, such as opening humanitarian corridors to provide more aid to Palestinian civilians.
Among the weapons the US has discussed using as leverage are 155mm artillery shells and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs), which are guidance kits that turn dummy bombs into precision-guided munitions, the officials said. Officials said the administration is likely to continue to provide other conversion kits that make Israeli ammunition more accurate.
Officials said they are unlikely to slow down the provision of air defenses, although the idea has been considered, as well as other systems that can defend Israeli civilians and infrastructure from attack. The administration is focusing on offensive military equipment in its review of what it could potentially hold back or delay.
Administration officials have also discussed offering the Israeli government more of the weapons it has requested as an incentive to take some of the steps the U.S. has asked for, officials said.
The effort comes after weeks when President Joe Biden and his national security team failed to persuade Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to dramatically change tactics in Gaza and take more steps to minimize civilian casualties, officials said. It marks a potential shift in Biden’s approach, moving beyond rhetorical pressure, mostly behind the scenes, and making tangible policy changes aimed at forcing Israel to act.
Some Democrats in Congress are urging the administration to do more to pressure Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
A spokesman for the National Security Council defended the government’s stance on the conflict so far. “As the president has made clear, he believes the approach he took was more effective,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Israel has a right and an obligation to defend itself against the threat posed by Hamas while respecting international humanitarian law and protecting civilian lives, and we remain committed to supporting Israel in its fight against Hamas.”
The sources said senior Biden administration officials remain frustrated that Israel has often ignored their calls for greater care to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians, citing the worsening humanitarian situation in Khan Younis as the latest example. That frustration has recently escalated inside the Pentagon, with Biden and other White House officials long privately exasperated by Netanyahu’s handling of the war.
Biden has said for weeks that he is doing everything he can to get Israel to change its military tactics.
“I am quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to significantly reduce and withdraw from Gaza,” Biden said on Jan. 8 as he faced protesters calling for a cease-fire. “I have used everything I can to do this.”
White House officials maintain that Biden has had some success, although they admit that Israeli government officials still haven’t made as much progress as the president wanted.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak candidly, expressed frustration with Israeli officials. “There is a lot more that needs to be done and they need to be more careful,” the official said.