The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks for use in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, according to a U.S. official and a former U.S. official.
Quick Read
- U.S. Arms Sale to Israel: The Biden administration has requested Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, intended for use in the conflict against Hamas in Gaza.
- Concerns Over Civilian Casualties: The request comes amid growing concerns about the use of U.S. weapons in a conflict that has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths since Israel’s response to a Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
- Sale Value and Review Process: The potential sale, worth over $500 million, is separate from Biden’s $110.5 billion supplemental request. It is currently under informal review by the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees.
- State Department’s Urgency: The U.S. State Department is reportedly urging a quick approval of the sale, although reasons for the urgency are unclear.
- Possible Emergency Authorization: The administration is considering using emergency authorities under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) to expedite the sale of a portion of the ammunition.
- Use of Merkava Tanks in Conflict: Online images show Israel’s regular deployment of Merkava tanks in the Gaza offensive and along the border with Lebanon.
- Link to Journalist Deaths: The tanks have been involved in incidents leading to journalist fatalities, including the death of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.
- Intensified Israeli Strikes: Israel has escalated strikes in Gaza, leading to hundreds of deaths, following the end of a seven-day truce.
- Scrutiny Over U.S. Weapon Usage: The use of U.S. weapons in the conflict is under increased scrutiny, but there are no plans to condition military aid to Israel or withhold it.
- Rights Advocates’ Concerns: Rights advocates argue that the sale contradicts efforts to minimize civilian casualties and raises concerns about U.S. complicity in potential war crimes.
- U.S. Veto at U.N. Security Council: The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, isolating Washington diplomatically.
- Link to U.S.-Made Weapons in Civilian Deaths: Amnesty International linked U.S.-made weapons to Israeli air strikes on civilian homes.
- Israeli Claims on Civilian Safety: Israel asserts it informs civilians about safe areas and blames Hamas for civilian harm, due to its operations among them.
- Gaza Death Toll: Gaza’s Health Ministry reported the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza had risen to 17,487.
- Background of the Conflict: Israel launched its campaign against Hamas after the group attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking hostages.
Reuters has the story:
Biden admin presses Congress to approve tank shells for Israel’s war in Gaza
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (Reuters)
The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks for use in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, according to a U.S. official and a former U.S. official.
The request is being made even as concerns grow about the use of U.S. weapons in a war that has killed thousands of civilians in the Palestinian enclave since Israel responded to an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants.
The potential sale, worth more than $500 million, is not part of President Joe Biden’s $110.5 billion supplemental request that includes funding for Ukraine and Israel. It is under informal review by the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, which allows members the privilege to stall the sale, or have informal discussions with the administration about concerns.
But the U.S. State Department is pushing the congressional committees to quickly approve the transaction, said a U.S. official and Josh Paul, a former State Department spokesperson, amid objections from rights advocates over the use of U.S.-made weapons in the conflict.
“This went to committees earlier this week and they are supposed to have 20 days to review Israel cases. State (Department) is pushing them to clear now,” Paul told Reuters.
A State Department spokesperson said as a matter of policy, “we do not confirm or comment on proposed defense transfers or sales until they have been formally notified to Congress.”
Reuters could not establish why the State Department would be pushing to clear the sale quickly.
The administration is also weighing using Arms Export Control Act (AECA) emergency authorities to allow a portion of the ammunition, 13,000 of the 45,000 shells, to bypass the committee and review period, the U.S. official said, although a final decision was yet to be made.
Online images of the war show that Israel regularly deploys Merkava tanks in its Gaza offensive and on its southern border with Lebanon, where skirmishes have erupted since Oct. 7.
RISKING COMPLICITY
The tanks are also linked to incidents that involved the death of journalists.
On Thursday, a Reuters investigation revealed that an Israeli tank crew killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded six reporters by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were filming cross-border shelling.
Israel has sharply increased strikes on the Gaza Strip since a seven-day-long truce ended a week ago, pounding the length of the Palestinian enclave and killing hundreds in a new, expanded phase of the war that Washington said veered from Israeli promises to do more to protect civilians.
As the war intensified, how and where exactly the U.S. weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though U.S. officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.
Rights advocates have expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn’t align with Washington’s effort to press Israel to minimise civilian casualties.
“This sale would be the latest example of the Biden administration providing weaponry that contradicts its stated desire to see the Israeli government better protect civilians during its operations,” said Seth Binder, director of advocacy at The Project on Middle East Democracy.
“By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the U.S. risks complicity in war crimes,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.
The United States on Friday also vetoed a proposed United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war, a move that diplomatically isolates Washington as it shields its ally.
Earlier this week, Amnesty International said US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) were used by the Israeli military in two air strikes on homes full of civilians, the first time a rights group has directly linked U.S. weapons to an attack that killed civilians.
Israel says it is providing detail about which areas are safe for civilians and how to reach them, and says Hamas is to blame for harm that befalls civilians because it operates among them, an accusation the Islamist group denies.
Gaza’s health ministry on Friday said the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza had risen to 17,487, with thousands more missing and presumed buried under rubble.
Israel launched what it says is a campaign to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group attacked Israeli towns in a surprise cross-border incursion on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages.
