(NewsInsights.org) – On May 8, Joe Biden drew a red line in the Gaza sands during a CNN interview. The president discussed his decision to block the transfer of US weapons to Israel that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have historically used to clear Hamas city targets because of the potential for civilian casualties. A GOP lawmaker recently cautioned against holding Israel back during an interview.
Following news that the president had paused a shipment of more than 3500 bombs to Israel, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sat down with Martha Raddatz on the May 12 ABC edition of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” McCaul reacted to news that Biden paused the shipment of roughly 1700 500-pound bombs and 1800 2000-pound bombs.
Raddatz asked McCaul whether possible IDF violations of international law in how they have used US munitions to pursue the campaign against Hamas concerned him. She referred to an ongoing State Department investigation and a preliminary report issued to Congress on May 10.
McCaul told Raddatz that despite considerable confusion “on the ground,” he and his colleagues in Congress approved the sale and shipment of the bombs. Additionally, the lawmaker pointed out that Congress had approved appropriations bills, including for Israel. He claimed the president was “holding them back.”
The Texas representative said precision guidance systems on the high-tech bombs would reduce civilian casualties. However, when Raddatz argued that the US rarely uses 2000-pound bombs because they sometimes leave craters of more than a thousand feet in diameter, she asked whether precision targeting with such a large weapon could accomplish that goal.
McCaul argued that Hamas used civilians as human shields, laying the responsibility for the majority of collateral deaths at their feet. Moreover, he said Hamas started the war and caused the death and hardship of the Palestinian people.
Additionally, McCaul said stopping the IDF from completing its military objective by telling the forces they couldn’t enter Rafah was akin to telling Allied forces to stop short of Berlin in World War II. He also Biden’s move “tantamount to an arms embargo.”
Finally, McCaul said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told him he would move forward alone if needed. Yet, the lawmaker pointed out that if the US abandons Israel, it will send a very negative message to other allies and enemies.
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