US sending Israel $1 billion in military aid, Biden administration tells Congress

T. Belman. Biden’s concern that the bombs shouldn’t be used in crowded areas just at a time when UN cuts by more than half the number of women, children ‘identified’ as killed in Gaza and Israel is in the process of evacuationg all civilieans from Rafah.

The obvious question is, what did Israel have to agree to in return?

First major deal since president said he would stymie sales of offensive weapons includes ammunition for tanks, mortar rounds and tactical vehicles

By AP  Today, 5:04 am


Backdropped by smoke rising to the sky after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli tank stands near the Israel-Gaza border as seen from southern Israel, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP/Leo Correa)

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday.

It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be announced by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 high-payload bombs — on hold earlier in the month. The administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The congressional aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.

The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the aides said.

There was no immediate indication of when the arms would be sent. Israel is now seven months into its war against Hamas in Gaza.

House Republicans were planning this week to advance a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel. The bid followed Biden’s announcement last week that he had paused bomb shipments, and could block future arms transfers if Israel’s military invades populated parts of Rafah in southern Gaza.

The White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress. The bill also has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.

In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.

“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy US security assistance consistent with US foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the US would continue to provide the military assistance provided in a $26 billion supplemental funding bill passed last month, but the White House paused the bombs because “we do not believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities.”

Congressional rules grant the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees to review major foreign weapons deals.

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

May 15, 2024 | 2 Comments »

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  1. From Amb. Friedman:

    As I said today on Fox, Biden’s $1B proposed sale of weapons to Israel does NOTHING for Israel’s war effort. The weaponry will not arrive in Israel for years, and, if Biden is still president then (God Forbid), he could hold up the shipment down the line.

    What Biden did last week was to hold up weapons that were ready for shipment NOW and were needed by Israel NOW to destroy Rafah terror tunnels and to attack Hamas terrorists with surgical precision and minimize civilian casualties.

    The messaging from the US State Department and the Biden team could not be worse. They are announcing: 1) America will hold Israel back from defeating Hamas, 2) Israel “might have” used US weapons in violation of International Law with no evidence backing that up, and 3) Israel should get out of Gaza — not that Hamas should get out of Gaza.

    It’s a betrayal of Israel and the worst possible messaging to achieve a return of the hostages. Wrong at every turn!

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