Netanyahu denies US preventing Israel carrying out military operations
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opens the cabinet meeting by offering condolences for the soldiers killed over the weekend, and apparently pushes back against comments from Economy Minister Nir Barkat and reports that US President Joe Biden talked him out of a preemptive strike on the Hezbollah terror organization.
“It’s a difficult morning after a difficult day,” says Netanyahu, reading from prepared remarks. “All the government and the people of Israel send our sympathies to the families of the heroes who fell in the war for our home.”
“This war is exacting a high price from us, but we have no choice other than to continue to fight,” he says.
Netanyahu says he spoke yesterday to Biden and expressed appreciation for the US stance at the United Nations Security Council after its work to soften a resolution on the Gaza fighting.
“I told Biden we will fight until there is total victory, however long it takes. The US understands this,” he says.
“There have been reports that US has prevented, and is preventing, us from carrying out operations in the region. This is not true. Israel is a sovereign country. Our decisions on the war are based on our operational considerations, and not external pressures,” Netanyahu says.
The comments appear to be a response to reports over the weekend, and comments by Barkat, seen as a potential future rival to Netanyahu as Likud leader.
Earlier today, Barkat said, “It is unacceptable that we would endanger our soldiers, and send them exposed into buildings that haven’t been bombed.
“Surrendering to any external pressure, even if it is from our best friends, is a grave mistake for which we are paying a heavy price,” Barkat said.
“We are too nice, and we are too considerate. And the bottom line is that our soldiers, the fighters, take disproportionate risks and we pay a heavy price.”
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Israel had warplanes in the air ready to carry out a major preemptive strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon four days after Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught, but Biden convinced Netanyahu to stand down at the last minute.
