John Fetterman Slams Biden Over Threat to Withhold Military Aid to Israel, Calling It ‘Deeply Disappointing’

US Senator John Fetterman called President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold military aid to Israel “deeply disappointing” – the latest criticism of the president over his handling of the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Biden announced this on CNN that it would withhold some bomb and artillery deliveries to Israel if that country attacked the Palestinian city of Rafah.

Fetterman, a Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, posted the news on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “It’s hard to disagree with that and it’s deeply disappointing,” the senator said.

It comes the day after Fetterman went to Fox News and more mildly criticized the Biden administration’s caution regarding weapons supplies in the event of an invasion.

“He was very supportive of Israel, but I don’t agree with him on everything. “For example… I don’t think we should withhold any munitions and I think we should send them immediately,” Fetterman said. “Israel is in a state of war of this kind; I don’t have any conditions, I never have and I don’t imagine I ever will.”

Fetterman has developed a reputation for saying it like he sees it, but criticism of a vulnerable president seeking re-election from one of his party’s swing state senators is still quite rare.

Fetterman is the staunchest supporter of Israel in the Senate among Democrats, which angered some progressives in his party who saw him as aligning with their movement, including those who want a ceasefire in the conflict.

In Wednesday’s interview, Biden acknowledged that some U.S. weapons were used to kill civilians in the Gaza Strip and said stop part of American arms shipments to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah, Hamas’ last major stronghold in Gaza.

“Civilians are dying in Gaza as a result of these bombs and other ways of attacking population centers,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett, referring to the 2,000-year-old bombs that Biden suspended last week.

“I’ve made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone into Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I will not provide weapons that have been used in the past to crack down on Rafah, to crack down on cities… that are solving this problem,” Biden said.