'Israel' prevented Blinken sanctions on IOF Unit 504: Israeli media
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The former Israeli Ambassador to the US reveals there were tensions between Biden and Netanyahu amid the wars on Gaza and Lebanon.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Security, after their meeting in 'Tel Aviv', on October 12, 2023. (AP)
In an interview with Ariel Kahana for Israel Hayom on Wednesday night, former Israeli Ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, revealed that former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had sought to impose sanctions on one of the IOF's most secretive and elite intelligence units, Unit 504.
"He had already decided," Herzog said. "We managed to prevent him from bringing down the axe at the last minute," adding, "There were difficult moments, and there were cases when the Americans went crazy."
According to the report, the US was not happy with the Israeli decisions during the war, citing an incident where Blinken stressed that such Israeli decisions could lead to a wider war, indicating that the occupation went steps too far.
"More than once they really attacked me and said, 'You're crazy, you've fallen on your head, how could you do something like this that would lead to an escalation? You'll drag us into war because you didn't think it through to the end and then ask us to come and rescue you.' There were tough arguments about things Israel did that, in their eyes, was one step too far."
Herzog also addressed the notable tensions between former US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, criticizing the US decision to halt military aid to "Israel" just before the ground operations in Rafah commenced.
Despite these tensions, Herzog emphasized that the Biden administration did offer support to "Israel" during crucial moments of the war, including providing ammunition, assisting in defense against Iranian missile attacks, supporting "Israel" in international courts, and exercising veto power at the UN multiple times.
Concerning Qatar, Herzog described it as a "very problematic player" in the negotiations between "Israel" and Hamas, highlighting its involvement as a source of tension in the process.
Herzog explained, "Qatar is a very problematic player. They helped and were an important player in achieving the deal, but as someone who saw the materials, I'm not the only one who feels that they didn't apply enough pressure on Hamas over a long period of time."
"Only at a late stage did they exert great weight to bring Hamas where we wanted. They didn't do everything that they could."
