Israel willing to defy US on Rafah, PM says, Israeli officials head to DC

• Published date: 23 March 2024
• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"There is no way for us to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there," Netanyahu said on Friday after he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv. Blinken made his sixth trip to the region since the start of the war

The two men discussed the growing tension between their governments over the Rafah operation, which the US opposes and which Israel insists is the only way to win the war.

Netanyahu stood his ground in the conversation and told Blinken, "I hope we will do it with the support of the USA, but if we have to we will do it alone."

Blinken pushed back at Netanyahu's words in a brief conversation with reporters Friday while he was in Israel."We share Israel's goal of defeating Hamas, which is responsible for the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust," Blinken said as he stood on the tarmac at Ben–Gurion International Airport.

"As we've said though, a major ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it. It risks killing more civilians. It risks wreaking greater havoc with the provision of humanitarian assistance. It risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardizing its long-term security standing."

He spoke about the issue with the war cabinet and is expected to hold further talks in Washington with the Israeli delegation led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. He will also meet separately with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who will also be in Washington, where he will also speak with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

"I will meet again with Israeli officials in Washington to discuss a different way we can achieve this objective," Blinken stated.In Tel Aviv, Netanyahu assured Blinken that he "greatly appreciates the fact that for more than five months we have been standing together in the war against Hamas.

"I also told him that we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population from the war zones and of course also take care of the humanitarian needs and we are working to that end," he said.

Blinken said he would meet Israeli officials in Washington "to talk about a different way of achieving these objectives, objectives that we share, of defeating Hamas and ensuring Israel's long-term security."

In Puerto Rico, US Vice President Kamala Harris said she didn't believe it was possible to safely evacuate civilians from Rafah. "There is nowhere for...