Washington threatened Tel Aviv to suspend a deal to supply Israel with assault rifles, in light of the anger that formed in the White House over the political exploitation by the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, of the campaign to arm Israelis and form civilian militias.

The campaign to arm Israeli civilians and settlers launched by the Israeli authorities and led by the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, angered officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden.

This came according to what The Marker newspaper reported on Saturday, and referred to a “political and security crisis” that Ben Gvir almost caused, following American “threats” to suspend a deal to supply Israel with assault rifles.

The newspaper reported that Ben Gvir turned the “photographed and documented campaign” to distribute weapons to civilians and settlers and form more “alert teams” (civilian militias operating in Israeli towns) into a “political and security event.”

The report claimed that Ben Gvir's political exploitation of the arms campaign "ironized" the White House, and referred to American threats to "stop arms shipments from the United States."

The newspaper pointed out the posts that Ben Gvir was keen to share on social networks, which show him distributing machine guns, including M16 rifles, to civilians.

The newspaper reported that these pictures, which came in a festive atmosphere with "political and civil" dimensions, "incited the anger of the Americans."

According to the newspaper, Washington threatened Tel Aviv “not to supply weapons to Israel as long as they will be used to arm civilians,” and as long as the distribution of weapons is being exploited politically.

The Marker said that the US administration threatened to suspend a deal concluded by the Israeli Ministry of National Security with American suppliers to purchase about 20,000 machine guns.

The report stated that the American “threat” “surprised” the Israeli security establishment, which required the Israeli side to make political and legal efforts to “resolve the crisis.”

At the end of lengthy deliberations conducted secretly between Israel and the United States, a “solution” was reached that allowed Israel to obtain weapons, especially in light of the “clear shortage” of rifles and machine guns in Israel.

The newspaper reported that Israel had made a formal commitment to the United States that weapons would be distributed through the Israeli police or army, even if political parties were present at weapons distribution events.

Israel also sought to convince the United States that “alert teams” are defined in Israel as “an auxiliary force for the Israeli police and border guards, and that any use of weapons by members of these teams will be done in a manner subject to the control of the security forces.”

Following the "American anger", the Israeli Prime Minister asked the Ministry of National Security to "ensure that civilian symbols are neutralized in documenting weapons distribution operations" to Israeli citizens.

Members of the "ready teams" were also asked to wear operational vests to distinguish them, and to work to reduce any other civilian appearances in "security incidents."

According to data issued by the Israeli Ministry of National Security, assault rifles were distributed to civilian militias in more than 32 cities.

The data also indicates the formation of about 700 “standby teams” throughout the country, including 40 “standby teams” formed by the “Border Guard” forces in regional councils in different regions.

According to estimates, about 5,000 long weapons have been distributed so far, most of them Israeli-made, namely MZ-4 assault rifles produced by the “Amtan” factory in Karmiel.