The Biden administration approved an “emergency sale” Saturday to send nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel as it escalates its incursion into the Gaza Strip.
The State Department approved the massive unloading — worth more than $106 million — in a move that allowed it to bypass Congress.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security, and it is vital to the US national interest to help Israel develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with that objective,” the department said in a statement.
“Israel will use the enhanced capabilities as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense,” he added.
For the price of $106.5 million, Israel will receive 13,981 120 mm High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer tank cartridges and US support, engineering and logistics, all of which will come from the Army’s inventory.
Congress was notified of the sale late Friday after Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined an “existential emergency” in the Middle East war would affect US national security interests.
The urgency allowed Biden officials to sell weapons without congressional review of the standards required for foreign military sales.
Although unusual, emergency sales are unprecedented. In 2019, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also sold $8.1 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan after it became clear that the Trump administration would have trouble overcoming lawmakers’ concerns about a Saudi-UAE-led war. in Yemen.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined “an existential emergency” in the Middle East war would affect US national security interests. AP
The sale comes days after the Biden administration pleaded for Congress to pass a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs.
Most of the funding will go to military and economic aid in Ukraine, saying Kyiv’s war effort to defend itself against Russian aggression may grind to a halt without it.
The administration has faced a tough reception on Capitol Hill, where there are growing doubts about the magnitude of the aid for Ukraine and where even Republicans who support the funding are pushing for changes to the US-Mexico border policy to stem the flow of migrants as a condition for the aid.
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on al-Shuja’ia district in Gaza on Dec. 9, 2023. ATEF SAFADI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The GOP-controlled House has approved a $14.3 billion self-help package for Israel.
More than 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas launched its surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, and 97 Israel Defense Forces soldiers have been killed in the fighting since then.
With the war entering its third month, the death toll in Gaza has reached more than 17,400, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
