The United States Department of State has informally notified Congress of its plans to send weapons to Israel worth $8 billion (7.8 billion euros) in what may be the last arms agreement between the Government of Joe Biden, which He will cease to hold office as president on January 20, and that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The notification was revealed by the digital Axiosand confirmed by various means.
The notification has been sent to the foreign relations committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as a step prior to its final approval. The package will include ammunition for fighter jets and attack helicopters, as well as artillery shells, small diameter bombs and bomb guidance systems.
This is a long-term agreement. Some of the ammunition will come from the current stocks that the United States has, but much of it would enter a manufacturing process now, so its delivery could take years. The weapons will be paid for from the military aid items to Israel approved by Congress.
Washington has provided extensive war support to Israel during Biden’s mandate, although at times tensions have arisen between both allies in this regard. The United States halted the shipment of 3,500 heavy bombs to Israel in May, concerned about their possible use in Rafah, the densely populated southernmost area of Gaza, but that did not stop Israeli attacks in the Palestinian strip. Furthermore, last October, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, sent a letter to the Government of Israel in which they demanded that it allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza if it wanted to continue. receiving weapons support. As a result of these tensions, there have been suggestions from Israel that the United States was practicing a silent embargo.
A growing number of Democratic members of Congress have expressed concern about the shipment of weapons to Israel and have called for subjecting military assistance to conditions related to humanitarian aid. Republicans, on the other hand, have strongly supported the delivery of weapons. During the Gaza war, some 45,000 Palestinians have already died, the vast majority of them civilians, due to attacks by Israel, which has relied on American weapons in its offensive.
In May, the State Department delivered to Congress a report highly critical of Israel’s use of weapons provided by Washington. The document explained that possible violations of international law were being investigated, but noted that the United States did not have “complete information to verify” whether American weapons “were specifically used” in violations of international humanitarian law. The report said that it was “reasonable to consider” that they had been used in a manner “inconsistent” with international law, but ended up concluding that the assurances given by Israel in this regard were “credible and reliable” and allowed the flow of military aid to continue.
“The president has made clear that Israel has the right to defend its citizens, in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression by Iran and its proxy organizations. “We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for the defense of Israel,” a senior US official told Axiosin relation to the new weapons package.
As announced, the Biden Government has tried in its last two months to expedite military aid to Ukraine as much as possible to defend itself from Russia amid fears that the Democrat’s successor, Donald Trump, will threaten to suspend it to force kyiv. to accept a peace agreement that involves territorial cessions to Moscow. Instead, the president-elect has assured Netanyahu of his full support when he takes office.
Biden has tried unsuccessfully for months for an agreement that would involve a ceasefire by Israel and the release of the hostages taken by Hamas in its attack on October 7, 2023. In December, Trump threatened to unleash “hell” against Hamas if he did not release the captives before he was sworn in on January 20.
The president-elect has appointed Steve Witkoff as special envoy for the Middle East. This Friday he appointed Morgan Ortagus as deputy special envoy, who worked for the State Department in his first term, but who at times was critical of Trump’s isolationist policy. “At first Morgan fought me for three years, but I hope he learned his lesson,” the Republican said in a message on his social network, Truth. “These things don’t usually work, but it has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens. I hope she will be an asset to Steve, a great and talented leader, as we try to bring calm and prosperity to a very turbulent region. “I expect great results, and soon!” he added.
