(Washington) 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, invoking an “emergency” authorization, of 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 Department of Foreign Affairs and the Pentagon.
This military equipment represents a value of 106.5 million dollars.
“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 […] by bypassing the parliamentary review required by arms export control legislation,” American diplomacy indicated.
On Wednesday, 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 insisted on by Democratic President Joe Biden, including funds for Ukraine and Israel.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security and it is crucial to American national interests to help Israel develop and maintain a strong self-defense capability,” the State Department further justified.
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 vetoed a UN Security Council resolution late Friday calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.