President Joe Biden has imposed a “de facto arms embargo” against Israel, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said on Sunday, offering his latest reaction to the commander-in-chief suggesting the United States could halt weapons going to a close ally.
Cotton, who has called for Biden to get impeached over the threat to Israel if it launches a full-scale ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, expounded on his criticism of the president during an interview on CBS News.
During a CNN town hall last week, Biden said he “made it clear” to Israel that if it conducts a major ground operation in Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”
Cotton argued that a supposed clarification by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appeared on “Face the Nation” just before him and suggested that Biden’s threat only applied to shipping heavy bombs to Israel, should be met with skepticism.
“What Tony Blinken says on this show cannot be credited when Joe Biden is out there imposing a de facto arms embargo on Israel at the same time he’s letting arms embargoes on Iran expire,” Cotton said.
President Biden has imposed a "de facto arms embargo on Israel," GOP @SenTomCotton claims after the administration halted a shipment of large bombs to Israel over concerns of a possible invasion into Rafah. pic.twitter.com/yNgYyK2yq3
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 12, 2024
Anchor Margaret Brennan pointed out that Biden had just signed off on a foreign aid package that provides $26 billion in emergency assistance to Israel and denied there is a weapons embargo or a block on intelligence-sharing with Israel.
Cotton shot back, contending that Biden’s position is “de facto for Hamas victory at this point” because Israel considers Rafah to be the group’s last-remaining stronghold in the more than six months of fighting since Hamas committed a deadly terrorist attack on Israeli soil.
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“Israel’s goal is to destroy Hamas, which committed the worst atrocity against Jews since World War II. Hamas’s goal is to survive. If they do- if Israel does not go into Rafah and destroy Hamas in Rafah, Hamas will survive,” Cotton said.
Last Thursday, Cotton called on the House to impeach Biden in response to the president’s foreign aid ultimatum the night before.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) told Fox News that he was preparing articles of impeachment, saying, “The House has no choice but to impeach President ‘Quid pro-Joe’ Biden.”
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