Date: 2025-07-02 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00026547
ISRAEL
US ARMS SALES TO ISRAEL
US weighs selling new fighter jets, missiles and guidance kits to Israel.
Some of the weapons could take years to arrive in Israel, but the move
comes as the administration faces pressure to condition arms transfers.
US ARMS SALES TO ISRAEL
US weighs selling new fighter jets, missiles and guidance kits to Israel.
Some of the weapons could take years to arrive in Israel, but the move
comes as the administration faces pressure to condition arms transfers.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a campaign event.
News of the potentially pending agreements comes as critics inside and outside
the U.S. government say President Joe Biden has a responsibility to limit weapons
sales to Israel as the death toll rises in Gaza. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Original article: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/01/us-new-fighter-jets-missiles-israel-00149976
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
Most of the 'easy read' reporting on complex issues tends to be somewhat simplistic. This suits most of the people who have been elected to Congress, but is not very useful for those of us who want to understand the issues even when they are quite complicated.
Peter Burgess
Some of the weapons could take years to arrive in Israel, but the move comes as the administration faces pressure to condition arms transfers.
Written by LARA SELIGMAN, JOE GOULD and PAUL MCLEARY
04/01/2024 02:48 PM EDT ... Updated: 04/01/2024 06:12 PM EDT
The U.S. government is considering major new weapons sales to Israel of fighter jets, air-to-air missiles and guidance kits, as calls grow for the U.S. to withhold arms if Israel won’t do more to limit civilian casualties in Gaza.
The Biden administration is weighing selling Israel up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, 30 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, and a number of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which turn dumb bombs into precision-guided weapons, according to a congressional aide and a person familiar with the discussions. The people were granted anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement.
While the sale is still pending U.S. government approval — and it will be years before the weapons arrive in Israel — the administration has already informally notified the relevant congressional committees, according to the congressional aide. That step typically means the administration is ready to move forward with the sale.
The F-15 sale alone is valued at up to $18 billion and was notified to the committees in February, according to the congressional aide.
A Defense Department spokesperson referred questions to the State Department. A State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on potential future sales.
News of the potentially pending agreements comes as critics inside and outside the U.S. government say President Joe Biden has a responsibility to limit weapons sales to Israel as the death toll rises in Gaza. Even members of Biden’s party have recently criticized Israel harshly for its operations in the enclave. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. government and historically a strong ally of Israel, last month called for new Israeli elections, prompting outrage from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
It also comes amid a rift among Democrats about whether Biden should leverage arms sales in his efforts to pressure Netanyahu not to launch a large-scale invasion of the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million civilians are sheltering from fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the north.
Hamas still holds over 100 Israeli hostages — the majority of them civilians — after snatching them during its Oct. 7 assault on Israeli towns, and officials are negotiating swapping hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has said that blocking sales of offensive weapons, something Biden has been reluctant to do, should be under consideration.
Josh Paul, who resigned from the State Department in protest over America’s continued lethal assistance to Israel, said the consummation of the deal would be “further proof” that the administration is unwilling to take a tough tack with Netanyahu.
“I think for all the president’s talk of wanting to restrain Israel’s operations in Rafah, this is continuing evidence that in practice, the administration continues to move on transfers for Israel, regardless of the situation on the ground in Gaza and the political context in the U.S.,” Paul said. “It is committed to its support for Israel, and this is proof of that.”
An Israeli airstrike Monday destroyed the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Syria, killing a senior Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer and several other people, according to Syrian state media. The IRGC funnels weapons and conducts training for militant groups across the region.
Biden administration officials were expected to meet virtually with Israeli officials on Monday to discuss Israel’s plans for an operation in Rafah to root out the remnants of Hamas. U.S. officials have urged their Israeli counterparts in recent weeks not to mount a full-on ground offensive in the city, because more than 1 million civilians are sheltering there. Most of the Israeli hostages are also believed to be somewhere in the city.
U.S. officials have said publicly that they believe going into Rafah without a plan to protect those civilians would be a mistake.
The news that the Biden administration is weighing new weapons sales comes days after the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was moving forward with a yearsold arms package for Israel, including more than 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs. Congress had been informed of parts of that package as long ago as 2008.
Like the F-15s and new munitions being weighed, those bombs won’t arrive in Israel for several years. MOST READ
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Tell Congress: No arms sales for human rights abusers
Gaza Alert @ Win Without War
9:06 AM (6 minutes ago)
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Win Without War
Peter: The death toll in Gaza alone is past 33,000 and includes the lives of thousands of children killed by the Israeli military’s bombs and siege. It could get all even worse — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced yesterday that he has set a date to invade Rafah.
This is no time for business as usual, but Politico reports the White House is STILL considering sending Israel up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, 30 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, and more.[1] This $18 BILLION arms deal is part of a long-standing agreement to support the Israeli government and would be the largest U.S. weapons sale to Israel since October 7.
The U.S. government must take human rights abuses seriously and hold our allies accountable. Congress must move quickly to BLOCK this sale. The problem? Building the level of support we need on Capitol Hill is an uphill challenge. The good news is that we’ve done it before — and since Congress can stop the weapons any time before they are delivered, we’ve got a crucial window of opportunity to make it happen.
No one is above the law. Tell Congress: Block President Biden’s $18 billion weapons deal now to save lives and get U.S. policy back in line with U.S. law.
ACT NOW
U.S. law is clear: A government cannot receive U.S. weapons while it obstructs the flow of U.S. humanitarian aid. Selling more weapons to Netanyahu’s government, which continues to block aid in Gaza, is like pouring gasoline on a wildfire.
Decision makers from the Capitol to the White House to the Pentagon say they are furiously urging the Israeli government to do more to protect civilians. Without crucial changes to U.S. policy, these words ring hollow.
The president should be using every ounce of influence to end the violence, get the hostages home, make sure no child goes hungry in Gaza, and save lives across Israel, Palestine, and beyond. Every day without a ceasefire, the chance that Israeli hostages still held by Hamas will be reunited with their families decreases. Every day this war drags on, people in Gaza are at incredible risk, whether dying from bombs or due to the growing famine — both a result of the Israeli military’s brutal siege.
Peter, it’s people like us who will build enough power to push U.S. foreign policy toward peace. When a whole movement of people fed up with the failed violence-first status quo speaks out, decision-makers understand that it’s time to choose a different path.
How do we know? We’ve done it before. Together, we built a coalition of activists who demanded change and successfully got bipartisan majorities of Congress to block weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in the face of incredible suffering and violence in Yemen. Today, let’s do it again!
The window for us to try to force a vote is wide open, but if we don’t act fast, the reality is it could quickly slam shut. Can you join thousands of other people who believe in peace and justice to speak out today to block billions of dollars in weapons bound for Israel?
U.S. bombs and bullets sold in our name have had devastating consequences: They’re used by oppressive governments to kill, sold on the black market in Yemen, and have even wound up in the hands of the self-described Islamic State.
Enough is enough. We can’t keep arming entire regions of the world and expect a peaceful outcome.
If U.S. laws to condition security assistance on ensuring humanitarian aid access don't apply in Gaza, then they don't apply anywhere. Congress can stop this, so please help urge them to act by signing our petition today.
Thank you for working for peace,
Sam, Sara, Shahed, and the Win Without War team
1. Politico, “US weighs selling new fighter jets, missiles and guidance kits to Israel”