This report is the second in two days to claim that Washington refuses to acquire weapons from the Jewish state.
The United States has blocked the delivery of thousands of bomb guidance kits to Israel since January, unnamed U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal on Monday. The White House has not explained whether it is deliberately withholding weapons, apparently leaving the Israeli government perplexed by the delay.
Congress first learned in January that the State Department intended to sell up to 6,500 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) to Israel for up to $260 million, according to Congress. indicated the newspaper’s sources. JDAM kits attach to conventional 500- to 2,000-pound bombs, allowing these “dumb” munitions to be guided to their targets as they fall.
The US State Department is required by law to formally notify Congress of its intention to supply weapons to foreign countries if the value of the package exceeds a certain amount ($25 million in the case of NATO members or of Israel). However, Congress was never informed of the sale of JDAM after January, “triggering an effective pause in the agreement”, the Journal reported.
The State Department declined to comment on the apparent delay. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to confirm or deny any pause in arms deliveries during a press briefing Monday, but insisted that commitments Americans on security matters towards Israel “are foolproof.”
“This is unusual, especially for Israel, especially in times of war. » a congressional official told the newspaper.
The report came a day after Israeli officials told Axios that the United States abruptly canceled a planned arms delivery last week. Officials claimed no reason was given for the cancellation, leaving them “I have difficulty understanding why the shipment was held up. »
It is unclear whether both reports referred to the same shipment. If the JDAM kits had been authorized for export to Israel, the State Department would have had to issue a formal notification 15 days before the sale. No such notice was posted on the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCAA) website, where sales are typically announced.
Although US President Joe Biden has never threatened to take weapons away from Israel, his criticism of the Jewish state has become more pointed as the war between Israel and Hamas has dragged on. Biden said an Israeli invasion of the civilian-populated town of Rafah would be a “Red line,” and publicly reprimanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “indiscriminately” bombing of Gaza.
The State Department also sanctioned Israeli settlers in the West Bank, while the United States abstained in a March U.N. Security Council vote that allowed passage of a measure requiring a immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Despite this criticism, the Biden administration has continued the flow of weapons and ammunition to Israel, and has reportedly approved more than 100 arms shipments since October.
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Netanyahu immediately declared war on the militant group, and Israeli forces have killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians to date, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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