(Washington) The Biden administration will send more than a billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, three US Congressional aides said on Tuesday.
This is the first arms shipment to Israel announced by the US president since he suspended another arms transfer – consisting of 3,500 bombs – earlier this month. The Biden administration said it suspended the operation to prevent Israel from using the bombs as part of its growing offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
The congressional aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the arms transfer, which has not yet been made public.
The shipment includes around 700 million in ammunition for tanks, 500 million in tactical vehicles and 60 million in mortar shells, according to these collaborators. There was no immediate indication of when the weapons would be sent.
THE Wall Street Journal was the first media outlet to report the news.
House Republicans this week planned to introduce a bill mandating the delivery of offensive weapons to Israel. Following Joe Biden’s decision to suspend bomb deliveries last week, Republicans were quick to condemn it, arguing that it represented abandoning the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.
The White House said Tuesday that the president would veto the bill if it passed Congress. However, he has virtually no chance in the Senate, controlled by the Democrats. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue. About two dozen signed a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by the bomb shipment disruption.
One of the letter’s signatories, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, said he would likely vote in favor of the bill, despite opposition from the White House.
“As a general rule, I support pro-Israel legislation unless it includes a poison pill – like domestic policy cuts,” he said.
In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in contact with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.
“We strongly oppose attempts to restrict the president’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” Trump’s press secretary said this week. White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, adding that the government planned to spend “every last penny”.