The Biden administration’s plan to sell weapons to Israel after withholding a bomb shipment over Rafah concerns last week has left some Democrats confused and angered by what they see as conflicting messaging on Biden’s policy towards Israel, a new report claims.
Democratic lawmakers vented their frustrations according to a new report in Politico, with one anonymous member saying the messaging on these weapons sales from the administration has been “lost in translation.” The Democrat complained that Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s strong rebuke of Israel, after this new weapons deal was made public, only confused lawmakers even more.
“If that was the cleanup, they suck,” the Democrat told Politico.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who has argued that U.S. aid to Israel should continue, said the White House has done a poor job communicating their rationale.
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“It was not clear what their motive was,” Cardin said, according to the report.
“If the purpose was to put a hold on the heavy bombs that should not be used in Gaza, that’s one thing, but that’s not how it was explained,” the senator continued. “The administration has to clarify this, but my understanding is they were only concerned about this one particular weapon.”
White House officials explained in the report that its pause of weapons to Israel before its invasion in Rafah was a singular exception in its overall strong support for its Middle East ally. Privately, officials admitted that their messaging had left some confusion “about what exactly was paused.”
The Biden administration’s stance on Israel has prompted criticism from within the president’s own party. Several pro-Israel Democrats slammed Biden’s decision to halt the weapons sale to Israel last week, with one suggesting the maneuver was politically motivated.
“I suspect it’s pandering to the far left,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., told Axios. “It looks like election year politics was driving it. That’s my impression.”
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“Hard disagree and deeply disappointing,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said earlier this month in response to Biden’s claims that he would potentially halt shipments.
Republicans have also put pressure on the administration, putting forward for a Thursday vote a bill that would stop Biden from blocking offensive weapons aid to Israel.
National security communications advisor John Kirby tried to clarify the administration’s position on U.S. weapons sales to Israel in a statement last week. He reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to Israel, saying Biden will “continue to ensure that Israel has all of the military means it needs to defend itself against all of its enemies, including Hamas.”
“For [Biden], this is very straightforward: He’s going to continue to provide Israel with all capabilities it needs, but he does not want certain categories of American weapons used in a particular type of operation in a particular place. And again, he has been clear and consistent with that,” Kirby continued.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this article.
