German Defense Minister addresses arms supplies to 'Israel' in US
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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, from Washington, stresses the importance of urging “Israel” to exercise restraint in its military aggression on Gaza.
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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (AFP)
During his visit to Washington, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius indicated that Berlin is considering replicating the measures taken by the US to suspend additional arms shipments if Israeli forces initiate a full-blown invasion into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
“This is currently being discussed,” Boris Pistorius said on Friday.
However, he refrained from establishing new red lines regarding German weapons. While speaking to ZDF public television, Pistorius emphasized the importance of pressuring "Israel" to exercise restraint in its war on Gaza.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he noted that the ongoing situation is detrimental to the region and particularly to the suffering civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Pistorius mentioned that Germany is carefully evaluating its options regarding military aid to "Israel", with the final decision resting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Foreign Ministry.
They had tackled it “behind closed doors,” he stressed.
US halts shipment of 3,500 bombs to 'Israel' amid Rafah invasion: ABC
Citing a senior US official, ABC News reported earlier today that a shipment of around 3,500 bombs to "Israel" last week was held up by the US over concerns that they would be used in Rafah where more than one million civilians are sheltering "with nowhere else to go."
The official stated that among those transfers from the US to "Israel" are Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM kits, which comes in the news confirmed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin publicly at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, noting that the Israeli invasion in Rafah could alter US aid to "Israel".
Speaking to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday, Austin said, "We are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah," stressing that the supplemental funding Congress passed is not affected.
"We've been very clear," he said, "from the very beginning that that Israel shouldn't launch a major attack on Rafah without accounting for and protecting those civilians that are hitting that battlespace. And, again as we have assessed the situation, we paused one shipment of high payload munitions."
Yet, Austin still maintained that the US-"Israel" alliance is "ironclad".
While the US remains "Israel's" primary supporter, President Joe Biden warned of additional restrictions on supplies if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proceeds with a full-blown Rafah invasion.
Despite it all, "Israel" defied international objections and Israeli occupation forces raided the eastern part of the city and occupied the main Rafah crossing with Egypt, even after Hamas announced it had accepted a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal presented by mediators in Doha and Cairo.
The recent US steps prompted Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say that "Israel" was prepared to "stand alone" in its genocidal war on Gaza.
"If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone," Netanyahu said in a statement on Thursday.
"We will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails," he stressed.
Later, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed that the Israeli occupation army had "enough weaponry to complete our mission in Rafah."
He mentioned in a televised address that "the United States has helped us in an unprecedented manner since the start of the war."
"We have our own interests and we are sensitive to the US interests," Hagari said.
Read next: 'Israel' threatens to halt negotiations after US blocked arms delivery
