Biden administration notifies Congress it is moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Israel National News
The Biden administration notified Congress on Tuesday that it is moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel, US and congressional officials told The Wall Street Journal.
The latest weapons package includes the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the officials said.
The munitions are intended to replenish stocks used during the war against Hamas, according to the report.
The news comes less than a week after the White House paused a shipment of bombs to Israel due to US opposition to a planned Israeli attack on the Gazan city of Rafah.
The shipment which was paused was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, a US official told The Associated Press last week.
A day later, President Joe Biden warned that he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Speaking to CNN, Biden said that while the US would continue to provide defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defense system, other shipments would end should a major ground invasion of Rafah begin.
Netanyahu responded to Biden, saying, ‘If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. I have already said that if we have to – we will fight with our nails. But we have much more than our nails, and with the same determination, with God’s help, we will win together,’ he said.
Biden’s comments were criticized not only in the Republican Party but also within Biden’s Democratic Party.
Last week, a group of 26 House Democrats wrote to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, expressing their deep concern about the arms shipment to Israel that was withheld.
The lawmakers stressed, ‘With democracy under assault around the world, we cannot undermine our ally Israel, especially in her greatest hour of need. America’s commitments must always be ironclad.’