AMNA NAWAZ: More now on the Biden administration's# decision to suspend some weapons deliveries to## Israel to pressure it against a large-scale# invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah.

Nick Schifrin is back here in studio now.

And, Nick, as you have been reporting, President# Biden wants the Netanyahu government to do more## to limit civilian deaths in Rafah, where more# than a million people are now sheltering -- Nick.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Amna, the decision# pauses the delivery of 3,500 bombs,## about half of them 2,000-pound bombs# that the U.S. police have caused the## most civilian casualties in Gaza.# President Biden also warned that## more weapons deliveries could be paused if# Israel launches that full invasion of Rafah.

So, will the decision have the desired effect?

For that, we get two views.

Ambassador Dennis# Ross played leading roles in the Middle East## peace process for more than 12 years.

He is# now a counselor and a distinguished fellow## at the Washington Institute for Near# East Policy, a Washington think tank.

And Tom Malinowski was assistant# secretary of state for democracy,## human rights and labor during the Obama# administration, and is a former member## of Congress.

He's now a nonresident# senior fellow at the McCain Institute.

Thanks very much to both of you.# Welcome back to the "NewsHour."

Ambassador Ross, let me start with you.

Will the Israeli government now take more into# account Biden administration over Rafah than## it would have had this decision not# been made and not been made public?

DENNIS ROSS, Former U.S.

Envoy to Middle# East: Look, it's an excellent question.

My sense is, from a political standpoint, it# will be harder for Prime Minister Netanyahu## to look like he's responding to President# Biden, not in terms of the body politic## of Israel as a whole, but in terms of# the right-wing of his own coalition.

So how he manages that, I think, remains# to be seen.

Now, having said that,## I don't see him wanting to put Israel# in a position where suddenly it's losing## access to some of the munitions it's# likely to need, not so much for Rafah,## but because it still faces very real# threats from Hezbollah in the north.

It's not in Israel's interest to create# an image of a gap, a division with the## United States.

That could make a conflict in# the north with Hezbollah more likely.

And,## frankly, it's also not in Israel's interest,# because I think it probably also increases## the Hamas sense, or at least Yahya# Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza,## increases his sense that he really doesn't# need to make any decisions at all right now.

He's going to play upon the divisions# between the United States and Israel.## So I think both Israel and the# United States have an interest## in finding a way to change that# image that there's a division.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Tom Malinowski, same question.# Is Bibi Netanyahu more likely to take U.S.## warnings seriously today than he# was before this was made public?

FMR.

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-NJ): Well,# he wasn't taking them seriously before.

And that's why the president# made this decision.

Look,## this is the most pro-Israel president in# American history, who's just reached his## limit after months and months of trying to# break through to this government in Israel.

We're still supporting Israel.

He's also# the first president just last month to put## American armed forces on the line defending# Israel against attacks, shooting down... NICK SCHIFRIN: This is the Iranian attack, right.

FMR.

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI: Exactly, shooting down## hundreds of missiles.

He'd do# it again tomorro..

He's just decided something that I think should# be noncontroversial, that we shouldn't be arming## a foreign country to do something that the# United States thinks should not be done.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Dennis Ross, take on# that last point.

Should the United## States be arming a country, Israel in this case,## to do something that it doesn't want# done, namely the invasion of Rafah?

DENNIS ROSS: It's pretty# hard to quarrel with that,## because the fact is, Israel has# its set of interests, but so do we.

And if we to do something that# is wrong or crossed the line or,## in fact, is counterproductive, which is# the real reason that the president has## adopted the position he has -- yes,# there's a moral dimension to this,## but he actually thinks this is self-defeating,# if Israel goes into Rafah on the ground.

Now, having said that, again, the# administration's position is actually## not different from Israel's that Hamas# should not be in control, not only of Gaza,## but they shouldn't be in control of Rafah.

There# ought to be a way for the administration and## Israel to reach an understanding on what# is a way to deal with the Hamas presence## in Rafah without putting at risk 1.3 million# people who are crammed into a very small area.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Well, that is certainly# what the U.S. wants.

Netanyahu has said,## at least publicly, that he needs to go into Rafah.

The impact on the hostage negotiations is the real# divide here.

Israel has accused President Biden,## essentially, of relieving pressure on Sinwar,# as Ambassador Ross said.

John Kirby made the## opposite case, that an invasion of Rafah would# actually hurt Israel in the negotiations.

Tom Malinowski, what do you think?

FMR.

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI: I agree with John Kirby.

But, also, I think that, for Prime Minister# Netanyahu to make that argument doesn't make## a lot of sense to me, because it was Prime# Minister Netanyahu who said repeatedly over## the last several days that he would go into# Rafah whether there's a hostage deal or not.

He took away his own leverage by# making those statements and put## the United States and our allies in the# region in a -- our other allies in the## region in the difficult position of trying# to convince Hamas, you have to give up the## hostages anyway and we will somehow try# to restrain the Israelis from doing this.

So, I don't think he can have it both ways.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Ambassador Ross, take on that## point, that Netanyahu took away his own leverage# by arguing he was going into Rafah regardless.

DENNIS ROSS: Yes, I think it was a mistake for him# to say that.

I think he was saying it because he## was trying to appease his ministers on the far# right, meaning Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.

The most important leverage Israel# has with Sinwar -- and, again, Sinwar,## I think, is different than the political# leadership of Hamas.

The key to, I think,## putting pressure under him is him feeling that# there's a noose that's tightening around his neck.

But, from that standpoint, the# threat of going into Rafah is## far more impressive than actually doing it,# number one.

Number two, if you were saying,## we won't go into Rafah if there's a hostage# release, that too increases the leverage.

I am concerned that, if it looks like we're# doing everything we can to prevent a threat## against Rafah, that that gives Sinwar a certain# degree of comfort.

So I think there is a great## value in the U.S. and the Israelis reaching an# agreement on, A, we share the same strategic## objective as it relates to Hamas in Gaza -- I# mean, in Rafah and Gaza more generally, but,## B, we have reached an understanding about how# to contend with how to remove Hamas from Rafah.

I think that is something that can be achievable.# I do think the issue with Netanyahu relates much## more to the politics of his coalition# than to the reality of what it will take## to succeed in Rafah and to do it in a way that# is consistent with what the U.S. can live with.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Well, when it comes# to the politics of the coalition,## we have got a few graphics to show here.

We have got a tweet from a member of the# coalition who is National Security Minister## Itamar Ben-Gvir right there in response to# the decision, tweeting: "Hamas loves Biden."

And a Jerusalem Post editorial,# there you go, "Betrayal of Allies."

So, Tom Malinowski, in the minute we# have left, is some of the responses,## especially within Netanyahu's# coalition, is that posturing or## is that genuine anger ahead of Israeli# Independence Day, and does it matter?

FMR.

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI: I think they're amping# up the drama.

I think they're hoping to affect## the American political debate on this, hoping# that somehow they can go around Biden and have## others pressure the administration# to change course, which won't work.

I -- those statements, particularly from ministers## who have been convicted by Israeli courts# of support for terrorism themselves,## are not going to have a lot of impact on the# Biden administration's calculus, nor should they.

I think, when the drama subsides, I agree with# Ambassador Ross that, at the end of the day,## Israel and the United States need each# other.

Israel needs the United States## and the supply of weapons that we provide# and the political support that we provide.

And I think the understanding, the common# understanding that Ambassador Ross rightly## says is necessary, about how to actually# defeat Hamas will be where we end up.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Tom Malinowski, Ambassador# Dennis Ross, thank you very much to you both.

DENNIS ROSS: Thank you.