- President Biden proceeded with $1 billion aid for Israel, despite backing off the week before
This week, The U.S. State Department moved a $1 billion package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, as stated by two U.S. officials on Tuesday. Among the weapons package, there are tank rounds, mortars, and armored tactical vehicles, as one of the officials told Reuters.
This comes rather as a surprise, considering that President Joe Biden stated last week that he decided to delay a shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel over concerns they could be used for a major invasion of Rafah, a town in southern Gaza.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned on Monday that the U.S. would keep providing military assistance provided in a $26 billion supplemental funding bill passed last month. However, the White House seemingly paused the bombs as “they don’t believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities.”
The chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees review some of the biggest foreign weapons deals.
Ultimately, Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah without safeguards for civilians. This comes after seven months into an invasion that has devastated Gaza. Biden’s support for Israel in its affairs against Hamas came as a political liability for the President, especially among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year.
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