Biden vows ‘rock solid’ support, defence aid for Israel

Gulf Today Report

President Joe Biden pledged "rock solid" support for Israel on Saturday in the face of what he described as "terrorist assaults" by Palestinian group Hamas, with an announcement on US military assistance expected imminently.

High-level discussions between US and Israeli officials on military aid were already underway, a US senior administration official said, with an announcement by Washington possible as early as Sunday.

Biden said from the White House that he had spoken with Netanyahu to say the United States "stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop."

The attack comes at a time of historic division within Israel over Netanyahu’s proposal to overhaul the judiciary. Mass protests over the plan have sent hundreds of thousands of Israeli demonstrators into the streets and prompted hundreds of military reservists to avoid volunteer duty - turmoil that has raised fears over the military’s battlefield readiness.

Joe Biden arrives to speak in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Saturday. AP

President Joe Biden, eager before next year's US election for a major diplomatic win, has pushed for a deal, and more talks were expected in coming weeks -- despite skepticism from some of Biden's fellow Democrats about the proposed security guarantees to the conservative kingdom, whose rights record has long been under scrutiny.

"It was always a tough hill to climb, and that hill just got a lot steeper," said Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute in Washington.