The American government on Saturday approved “urgently”, without going through Congress, the sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 tank shells.
The American government approved “urgently”, without going through Congress, the sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 tank shells used in its war against Hamas in Gaza, he said on Saturday.
The State Department notified Congress on Friday, citing an “emergency” authorization, the sale to its Israeli ally of 13,981 120 mm shells equipping the Merkava battle tanks engaged in the offensive in the Palestinian territory, according to press releases Saturday from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pentagon.
This military equipment represents worth $106.5 million.
“The Secretary of State (Antony Blinken) determined and justified in detail to Congress that there was an urgency to immediately sell this equipment to the Israeli government (…) without the parliamentary review required by the legislation on arms export control”indicated American diplomacy.
Wednesday, the Congress – divided with a House of Representatives with a Republican majority and Democratic senators in the majority but themselves fractured – had failed to make progress on a huge aid package of more than $106 billion urged by Democratic President Joe Biden, including funds for Ukraine and Israel.
Despite sometimes tense diplomatic relations, Washington is Israel’s primary supporter and has provided it with $3.8 billion in military aid per year since 2016, under the presidency of Barack Obama.
The United States has put its vetoed Friday evening a UN Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.