US To Go Ahead With $1 Bln In New Arms To Israel Despite Rafah Concerns: Reports
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 16, 2024 | 01:00 AM
WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2024) URGENT
WASHINGTON, May 16 (APP): The Biden Administration has told Congress it plans to send more than $1 billion in new US weapons to Israel, according o media reports, amid concerns over the Israeli military’s planned ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The move comes despite the US being opposed to the invasion, and last week it had even paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over concerns civilians would be killed if used in densely populated areas. Among the demands by large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the United States is an end to American arms to Israel.
The package, confirmed by US media, would include $700m in tank ammunition, $500m in tactical vehicles and $60m in mortar rounds, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The White House notification is part of a process mandated by Federal law when a US arms sales to a foreign nation exceeds a set amount. Last month, Congress approved a package of military aid providing $95 billion to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
On Tuesday, Israeli tanks advanced deeper into residential areas in the south-east of Rafah and are thought to be about a mile from the centre.
Meanwhile, medical services are dwindling. Aid agency Doctors Without Borders said they had stopped operating at one of the area's field hospitals because it was too dangerous to stay.
The White House notification is likely to spark objections from some members, although Congress has never successfully blocked an announced arms sale drawn from already approved funds.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen was critical of the decision and told the Washington Post the US should not proceed with any additional arms transfers until the Netanyahu government had met President Biden's concerns about Rafah and the provision of humanitarian assistance.
A US State department report last week found that some American-made weapons provided to Israel may have been used in breach of international law.
While the report was a clear rebuke of some Israeli operations in Gaza, it stopped short of definitively saying that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) campaign had breached international law.
It added that assurances it had received from Israel about adhering to the legal use of US weapons were "credible and reliable".
The Israeli arms-sale notification to Congress is the first since Mr Biden's administration paused arms transfers to Israel last week.
He said he had delayed the shipment of 2,000 lbs (900kg) bombs to Israel because of how they might be used in such a ground operation.
Asked by CNN about the delay, Biden said: "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs."
Weapons transfers to Israel have become a political liability President Biden ahead of this November's 2024 White House election.
News of the latest arms package emerged soon after voting ended in a presidential Primary election in Maryland, where activists had urged voters to register a protest ballot against what they see as Biden's favouritism towards Israel over the Gaza war.
Republican lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation intended to prevent any further pauses in weapons shipments to the US ally.
The House of Representatives this week will vote on a measure that requires the State Department and Defence Department to ensure the "prompt delivery" of military equipment.
The White House has vowed to veto the bill, if it manages to pass the Senate, which is unlikely.
Nearly 450,000 people had been forcibly displaced from Rafah since May 6, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement. Another 100,000 people have evacuated from the north in the face of fierce new attacks.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 35,173 people have been killed and 79,061 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
APP/ift
Related Topics
Recent Stories
ECB enhances security for Pakistan cricket team in the UK
UHS bars medical colleges from Imposing fines on students
Janhvi Kapoor refutes marriage rumors with Shikhar Pahariya
At least 28 die in Balochistan's Washuk bus accident
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 29 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 29 May 2024
NAB raids Malik Riaz's Bahria Town Rawalpindi office
‘Govt can boost revenues by 40 billion with optimized Tobacco Taxation’
Nawaz Sharif says they are of May 28, and not of May 9
Nawaz Sharif again elected unopposed as PML-N president
New complaint lodged against Imran Khan over alleged ‘hateful narrative’ aga ..
NAB law of 40-day physical remand be withdrawn, says Khawaja Saad
More Stories From World
-
BRI to bring China's Xinjiang, Pakistan together for shared development, prosperity: experts
6 minutes ago -
Sweden pledges $1.25 bn in military aid to Ukraine
15 minutes ago -
BHP asks for more time to explore Anglo American takeover
26 minutes ago -
Some 200 Georgian NGOs vow to defy 'foreign influence' law
36 minutes ago -
South Africans vote with ANC rule in balance
56 minutes ago -
Inside a semiconductor 'clean room' at Japan's top university
1 hour ago
-
US, China defence chiefs to hold rare talks in Singapore
1 hour ago -
South Africans vote with ANC rule in balance
1 hour ago -
US, China defence chiefs to hold rare talks in Singapore
2 hours ago -
Ex-Thai PM Thaksin to face trial for royal insult
2 hours ago -
Pakistan eyes on ramped-up CPEC cooperation with China to grow local economy
3 hours ago -
Southwest China launches new air cargo route to Pakistan
3 hours ago