White House cancels meeting, scolds Netanyahu in protest over video
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The White House cancels a high-level US-"Israel" meeting on Iran that was scheduled for Thursday.
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This combination photo shows President Joe Biden, left, on March 8, 2024, in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, "Israel", October 28, 2023. (AP)
The White House canceled a high-level meeting with "Israel" on Iran, scheduled for Thursday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video on Tuesday saying the US was withholding military aid, two US officials tell Axios.
According to two US and Israeli sources, President Biden's top advisors were infuriated by the video. US envoy Amos Hochstein conveyed this anger directly to Netanyahu during a meeting hours after the video's release. Subsequently, the White House escalated its response by canceling the meeting scheduled for Thursday.
"This decision makes it clear that there are consequences for pulling such stunts," a US official said, while a senior Israeli official said, "The Americans are fuming. Bibi's video made a lot of damage." It is worth noting that some Israeli officials were already en route to Washington when the meeting was canceled.
Read next: Biden 'squeezing' Netanyahu from all sides to end war: Politico
According to two US officials, the meeting was canceled to send a message about the video, Axios reported. However, a third official stated that the meeting was postponed, not canceled.
Speaking in English, Netanyahu stated in the video that it was "inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel."
Publicly, the White House expressed bafflement. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed out that only one weapons shipment had been paused since the war began, while billions of dollars worth of weapons had continued to flow unimpeded.
"We genuinely do not know what he is talking about," she said.
Biden's team calls out Netanyahu
In private, Biden's team was angry and shocked by Netanyahu's ingratitude, according to one US official.
Hochstein met Netanyahu on Tuesday during a stop in "Israel", returning from Beirut, where he was attempting to de-escalate tensions on the Palestine-Lebanon border.
In the meeting, Hochstein informed Netanyahu that the accusations made in the video were both inaccurate and inappropriate, according to two Israeli officials briefed on the discussion, as reported by Axios.
Additionally, Biden's top advisors decided to cancel the strategic dialogue on Iran, which was set to include hours of meetings involving officials from the State Department, Pentagon, and US intelligence agencies, along with their Israeli counterparts.
An Israeli official confirmed that the White House notified "Israel" of this decision.
According to the Israeli official, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will still meet his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, who has already departed for the US. Additionally, Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant is scheduled to visit early next week, Israeli officials say.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu's teams are more strained now than at any point in the eight months since the war in Gaza began on October 7. This is the second time a meeting of the Iran strategic dialogue was canceled at the last minute.
