Following reports that the United States was delaying a shipment of ammunition that was supposed to leave for Israel last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration was delaying a shipment of thousands of weapons amid increasing internal pressure in the United States towards the administration following the war in Gaza.
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President Biden delays arms shipment
(צילום: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz, IDF Spokesperson's Unit, REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
According to the report, the United States was delaying a shipment of about 6,500 JDAM kits (Joint Direct Attack Munition) that turn simple air bombs into "smart" and targetable bombs to Israel worth 260 million dollars. According to sources familiar with the deal, Congress became aware of the proposed deal in January, but the Biden administration has not advanced it.
It was also reported that the Biden administration has not advanced the transfer process to Israel of additional combat assets worth billions of dollars, in deals including tank ammunition, military vehicles, and artillery rockets since March. According to American sources, these potential deals included the transfer of 700 million dollars worth of 120mm tank ammunition, 500 million dollars worth of tactical vehicle components, and about 100 million dollars worth of 120mm artillery ammunition.
The American State Department is required to notify Congress when the United States plans to sell weapons to other countries if the transaction amount exceeds a certain threshold. The State Department usually provides information to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before potential arms sales, and then the official notification goes to Congress.
However, the WSJ reported that the State Department never notified Congress about the JDAM kits which caused its delay. A congressional source familiar with the arms sales process said that this is unusual, especially for Israel, especially during wartime. According to him, Congress does not know the reason for the delay.
On Monday, White House National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby assured reporters that their security commitments to Israel are solid. So far, the White House has publicly opposed calls to restrict arms sales to Israel, despite criticism of the number of casualties and destruction in Gaza by American weapons.
Nadav Eyal reported last week that the U.S. informed Israel that if Israel carries out an extensive operation in Rafah without coordinating it beforehand, it will lead to a delay in arms shipments, and possibly to a ban on using American weapons and ammunition. Under the terms of American procurement, some weapons can be prohibited from being used. In recent months, it has been reported that the U.S. is considering delaying arms shipments and prohibiting their use in Rafah.
Britain was also considering suspending arms exports to Israel if it operated in Rafah as early as February. Washington has delivered more than 100 arms shipments to Israel since the beginning of the war, and recently President Biden approved an unprecedented amount of aid to the IDF. Overall, the U.S. sent hundreds of millions of dollars worth of arms, vehicles, weapon components, and more.