Washington:
Billions of dollars in US weaponry remain in the pipeline for Israel, despite the delay of one shipment of bombs and a review of others by President Joe Biden's administration, which worried that using them in an attack could cause more destruction among Palestinian citizens.
A senior US official said this week that the administration has reviewed and as a result has halted a shipment of bombs to Israel.
Washington has long urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government not to invade Rafah without protecting civilians as a war that has devastated Gaza has raged for seven months.
Congressional aides estimate the value of the delayed bomb shipment at “tens of millions” of US dollars.
A wide range of other military equipment will go to Israel, including Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS), which convert dumb bombs into precision weapons; and tank rounds, mortars and tactical armored vehicles, Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters.
Risch said these munitions were not moving through the approval process as quickly as they should, noting that some had been in the works since December, while aid to Israel typically passes the review process within weeks.
Biden administration officials have said they are assessing the additional arms sales, and Biden warned Israel in a CNN interview on Wednesday that the US would stop supplying weapons if Israeli forces made a major invasion of Rafah.
Israel's attack on Gaza was sparked by an October 7 attack by Islamist Hamas operatives, which they say killed 1,200 people. The subsequent Israeli bombardment killed about 35,000 Palestinians and displaced the majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, according to local health authorities.
Separately, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has proposed an $18 billion arms transfer package for Israel that would include dozens of Boeing Co. F-15 aircraft would be halted while he awaits more information on how Israel would use them.
Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability for the president, especially among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year. It has fueled a wave of “uncommitted” protest votes in the primaries and fueled pro-Palestinian protests at American universities.
None of these arms deals are part of a spending package that Biden signed last month, which included about $26 billion to support Israel and provide humanitarian aid.
Risch and Meeks are two of four U.S. lawmakers — the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs — who review major foreign arms deals.
'FINGERNAILS'
Netanyahu issued a video statement Thursday saying Israelis would “fight with their fingernails” in an apparent repudiation of Biden.
Republicans accused Biden of failing to fulfill his obligations to Israel. “If the commander in chief cannot muster the political courage to stand up to radicals on his left flank and stand up for an ally at war, the consequences will be dire,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech in the Senate. .
Ten other Senate Republicans held a press conference to announce a non-binding resolution condemning “any action by the Biden administration to withhold or restrict weapons from Israel.”
White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israel is still getting the weapons it needs to defend itself. “He (Biden) will continue to provide Israel with the capabilities it needs, all of them,” Kirby said.
Some congressional Democrats welcomed Biden's action.
Senator Chris Murphy, the Democratic chairman of the Middle East Foreign Relations subcommittee, expressed concern about Rafah.
“I don't think it is our strategic or moral interest to help Israel wage a campaign in Rafah that will likely kill thousands of innocent civilians and is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on Hamas's strength in the long term,” he said to Reuters.
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