As Israel continues its war against Islamist terrorism on multiple fronts in the wake of October 7 and prepares to retaliate against Iran for its missile attack on the Jewish state two weeks ago, a letter from the Biden-Harris administration on Sunday warned that the U.S. will withhold weapons aid unless Israel increases humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Experts say the move is a political ploy that will hinder Israel’s military effort to defend itself.

The letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demanded that Israel increase humanitarian to Gaza within 30 days or risk losing funding for weapons provided by the U.S. The warning comes at an inopportune time for the Jewish state, as it mulls a retaliatory strike against Iran over the Islamist regime’s missile attack on October 1 that rained down almost 200 projectiles, most of which were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems.

Notably, the letter does not acknowledge widespread reports of Hamas terrorists in Gaza intercepting and confiscating aid packages, nor does it mention the 97 hostages, including seven Americans, who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

In addition, the missive demanded that Israel not impose sanctions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), despite documented evidence that UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack and that terrorists operated out of UNWRA facilities.

The letter comes as Israel continues to see success on the battlefield against an array of terrorist foes. On Thursday, news broke that during an operation in Gaza, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 attack that butchered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250.

On Wednesday, Air Force Brigadier General (Ret.) John Teichert joined “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” to discuss the implications of the Biden-Harris administration’s public willingness to withhold military aid to its strongest ally in the Middle East.

“[T]his undermines our friend in Israel at a critical time, where they are on the verge of striking back against Iran, and now we continue to undermine them and provide top cover to terrorists and to Iran by making these types of threats that are consistent with the threats we’ve been making since February when we started talking about red lines and Rafah,” Teichert contended.

The former assistant deputy undersecretary for the Air Force’s International Affairs went on to describe the impact that an arms embargo would have on the Jewish state.

“The United States is the number one arms supplier to Israel for both offensive and defensive systems,” Teichert explained. “And if, all of a sudden, we cut off that type of support, then now they are left defenseless against this multi-front war that is propagated by Iran. And it also ultimately undermines our credibility as a trusted friend and ally around the world. And I just think it’s shameful that for domestic purposes, to pander to the audience in places like Michigan that are looking for the Biden-Harris administration to take a tougher line against Israel. … [N]ow we’re undercutting not just Israel at the verge of the most important moment in their history —which is striking back against Iran, — [but] undercutting our alliance and friendship system around the world.”

Teichert further expressed concern over a Washington Post report quoting Biden-Harris administration officials as saying that Israel had agreed not to target Iran’s oil or nuclear facilities. “I do think that it is unwise for the Biden administration to start leaking which targets are off the list for Israel. That just makes it easier for Iran to defend against those strikes. Every option should be on the table, and it should be a surprise ultimately to Iran which targets are struck when Israel decides to do so.”

Teichert also argued that the White House’s threats toward Israel are only aiding the terrorist groups.

“[T]hose 2,000-pound bombs that Biden-Harris have been threatening to withhold from Israel since their red line in Rafah comment, are the type of munitions that have been necessary to strike those types of targets of Hezbollah leaders within Lebanon. And just the fact that, for the last eight months, Israel has had to protect itself against these threats from the United States, has been shameful and has emboldened Iran and Hezbollah and the Houthis and others, because they know that not only is Israel striking back to protect themselves, but their closest friend is threatening to hold back aid to them at their moment of need.”

“I do think it is true that authoritarian regimes, and certainly terrorist regimes, don’t care about the people in Gaza or in Lebanon,” Teichert added. “Frankly, I believe that Hezbollah is holding 5.5 million hostages, and those are the Lebanese people.”

Teichert concluded by insisting that Israel is doing the work that the United Nations refuses to do, which is enforce its 2006 resolution that called for Hezbollah forces to withdraw from Lebanese land south of the Litani River. “Unfortunately, the United Nations has not enforced U.N. Resolution 1701 from 2006, and now Israel is actually doing the bidding of the United Nations by driving Hezbollah to the north and disarming them.”