Gallant's Washington trip hopes to stop US arms embargo, senior IDF general says

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant flew to the US to meet with American senior officials regarding the ongoing negotiations for the release of the hostages and Israel's intention to operate in Rafah. According to IDF Maj.-Gen. Nimrod Shafer, one of the goals of the visit is to prevent an American arms embargo on Israel.

In a conversation with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM radio, Shafer added that "there is a difference between an embargo and taking certain measures. You can take all kinds of steps, for example, to slow down arms deliveries. Certain items say 'We are examining the request,' but never arrive. There are all kinds of ways in politics to make it very difficult." 

On a possible operation in Rafah, Shafer said, "I think that doing an operation in Rafah is the right decision. It's essential and could have been done in the first weeks of the war. The State of Israel chose not to go into Rafah because there were no real plans for the operation and no one wanted to talk about what would happen the day after. We did not fight in Rafah, and in my opinion, this opportunity is no longer in our hands."

The significant American influence on Israel and the IDF

"What do I mean when I say, 'If the Americans tell us you not to operate in Rafah, we won't fight'? We won't operate in Rafah, maybe we will carry out very small and focused missions but we won't see anything similar to what happened in the last five months in Gaza if the Americans tell us not to," he added

Regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Israel will act in Rafah even without American support, he said: "I think it is the same arrogance and recklessness that has brought us to this point. It's embarrassing to hear these statements. If the US opposes an operation by the IDF or the State of Israel in Rafah, Israel will not fight in Rafah. To say, 'Despite what you say, with all due respect, we will fight in Rafah,' these are words that are mainly meant to please his base and have no grip on reality. The IDF will not fight if the Americans object. If the president tells Israel the same thing he told Iran, Hezbollah, and others in the Middle East five months ago, we will not fight in Rafah."

He also referred to the continuation of the fighting in the North, claiming that Israel has no plan to solve the problem with Hezbollah. "There is no plan, and if there is one, no one is telling the citizens of Israel about it. If the Israeli government wanted to advance in the North, it would have set up a team months ago and told them, 'Figure out how and when to bring the evacuees back home.' The fact that it has not done that for half a year shows that it does not want to do it. As frustrating as it sounds, and it is difficult to say, but that is the fact."