Netanyahu Demands U.S. Send Weapons to Israel More Quickly: ‘Give Us the Tools Faster’

AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded on Thursday that the U.S. send weapons to Israel more quickly during a meeting with House Republicans.

Just days after seven aid workers, including an American, were killed by Israel in a targeted airstrike, 15 House Republicans visited with Netanyahu in a trip sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

During the meeting, Netanyahu told the Republicans:

I have three messages for you. The first is we’re going to win. Absolutely. Victory is within reach. It’s very close, and there is no substitute for victory.

The second is that it can be made quicker. I’ll paraphrase someone you all have heard of, Winston Churchill. He said, “Give us the tools and we’ll do the job.” Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster. I’m talking about the supplemental. I hope you find a way to give it as fast as you can.

The third thing is this is, there is a contrary move, an attempt to force, ram down our throats a Palestinian state, which will be another terror haven, another launching ground for an attempt, as was the Hamas state in Gaza. That is opposed by Israelis, overwhelmingly. We just had a vote in the Knesset: 99 to 9. Do you have those kinds of numbers? I think you might have those numbers if you bring that same resolution, that same resolution to the Congress. I think you’ll have a similar or at least a very powerful majority.

He concluded, “I think it’s important, because the people of Israel choose life, and life means security and security means defeating our enemies, but also standing together for our common civilization.”

According to a press release from the Israeli government, the House Republicans on the trip were:

Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), Rep. Kevin Kiley, Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA), Rep. Laurie Chavez-Deremer (R-OR), Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ), Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY), and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT).

The meeting took place on the same day that President Joe Biden called Netanyahu “to emphasize that strikes on aid workers and the humanitarian situation in Gaza are unacceptable,” after seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday.

Biden has received heavy criticism from Democrats over his continued military support for Israel in the wake of the killings. The Biden administration is currently trying to get Congress to approve the transfer of additional bombs and fighter jets to Israel.

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