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Admin to Send $1B in Weapons to Israel 05/15 06:11
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it would send more than $1
billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides
said Tuesday. But it was not immediately known how soon the weapons would be
delivered.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it would
send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, three
congressional aides said Tuesday. But it was not immediately known how soon the
weapons would be delivered.
It's the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed since the
administration put another arms transfer, consisting of 3,500 bombs of up to
2,000 pounds each, on hold this month. The Biden administration, citing concern
for civilian casualties in Gaza, has said it paused that bomb transfer to keep
Israel from using those particular munitions in its offensive in the crowded
southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The package disclosed Tuesday includes about $700 million for tank
ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds,
the congressional aides said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.
There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. Two
congressional aides said the shipment is not part of the long-delayed foreign
aid package that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed last month. It
wasn't known if the shipment was the latest tranche from an existing arms sale
or something new.
The Biden administration has come under criticism from both sides of the
political spectrum over its military support for Israel's now seven-month-old
war against Hamas in Gaza -- at a time when Biden is battling for reelection
against former President Donald Trump.
Some of Biden's fellow Democrats have pushed him to limit transfers of
offensive weapons to Israel to pressure the U.S. ally to do more to protect
Palestinian civilians. Protests on college campuses around the U.S. have driven
home the message this spring.
Republican lawmakers have seized on the administration's pause on the bomb
transfers, saying any lessening of U.S. support for Israel -- its closest ally
in the Middle East -- weakens that country as it fights Hamas and other
Iran-backed groups. In the House, they are planning to advance a bill this week
to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel.
Despite the onetime suspension of a bomb shipment, Biden and administration
officials have made clear they will continue other weapons deliveries and
overall military support to Israel, which is the largest recipient of U.S.
military aid.
Biden will see to it that "Israel has all of the military means it needs to
defend itself against all of its enemies, including Hamas," national security
spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. "For him, this is very
straightforward: He's going to continue to provide Israel with all of
capabilities it needs, but he does not want certain categories of American
weapons used in a particular type of operation in a particular place. And
again, he has been clear and consistent with that."
The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans for the $1 billion weapons
package to Israel.
In response to House Republicans' plan to move forward with a bill to
mandate the delivery of offensive weapons for Israel, the White House said
Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress.
The bill 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.
One of the letter's signers, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, said he would
likely vote for the bill, despite the White House's opposition.
"I have a general rule of supporting pro-Israel legislation unless it
includes a poison pill -- like cuts to domestic policy," he said.
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 U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. 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.
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