CITIZENS NEWS

Pathological LIAR Biden is still arming Israel's genocidal operations with $1B worth of weapons

By bellecarter // 2024-05-19

Despite claims of cutting weapons shipments to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah, President Joe Biden's administration is pushing through with its $1 billion weapons transfer to Israel. The move will have to be approved by Congress, according to a Wall Street Journal report. This billion-dollar worth of weapons includes $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds. It remains unclear when the arms will be sent. Earlier in May, when he announced halting the sending of weaponry to Israel, which he acknowledged has been used to kill civilians in Gaza, Biden assured that the U.S. would continue to provide defensive weapons, including for its Iron Dome air defense system, though other shipments would end should a major ground invasion of Rafah begin. "We are continuing to send military assistance," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday. "We have paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs because we don’t believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities." Moreover, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week: "We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President's ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives." She added that Washington plans to send "every last cent" of the supplemental package signed into legislation by Biden last month. Seth Binder, an expert on U.S. weapons sales with the Middle East Democracy Center, a policy institute in Washington, said the White House's decision to proceed with a large new weapons package for Israel only days after halting a pending shipment weakened its attempt to pressure Netanyahu to rethink the conduct of the war. "This is just another example of them muddying their message and undermining any real strength behind the hold," Binder said. Back in March, Congress also passed a $95 billion package of foreign aid that includes military assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Meanwhile, Israel has already carried out airstrikes and sent forces into Rafah over the past week in what it calls a targeted operation to pressure Hamas into a deal that releases hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire. Dozens of civilians, including children, have been reported killed. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forcibly displaced and the operation has severely disrupted efforts to send aid into the strip. (Related: Israel captures Rafah border crossing, cutting off all humanitarian aid to Gaza as hundreds of thousands face starvation.) The U.S. State Department is required to notify Congress when the U.S. plans to sell weapons to other countries when the deal rises above specific dollar thresholds. It typically provides information to the House and Senate foreign affairs committees ahead of those potential arms sales, followed by a formal congressional notification. America has sent Israel tens of thousands of bombs, tank and artillery ammunition, precision weapons and air-defense equipment since the war began, often drawing on $23 billion worth of weapons transfers that have been previously approved by Congress. U.S. weapons transfers to Israel are usually paid for out of foreign aid funds provided by Congress. An aid package approved last month includes about $26 billion in funding for Israel, including $5.2 billion in spending on air defenses, $1 billion for the production of artillery and billions of dollars for other weapons systems and U.S. military operations undertaken in the region in response to recent attacks. It also includes about $9 billion for humanitarian assistance, some of which would help Gaza residents.

UN's Guterres denounces Israel's Rafah assault, calls it "unacceptable"

United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres could not take Israel’s continued genocidal operations in the southern Gazan Palestinian city. "Any assault on Rafah is unacceptable. It would inflict another surge of pain and misery when we need a surge in life-saving aid," he said during a summit of the League of Arab States. "The toll on civilians continues to escalate. Entire families were wiped out. Children are traumatized and injured for life. People were denied access to the very basics for human survival. A looming famine." According to the UN leader, hearts are breaking for Palestinians in Gaza as the war Israel is waging is a "wound" that could affect the whole region. "In its speed and scale, it is the deadliest conflict in my time as secretary-general for civilians, aid workers, journalists and our own UN colleagues," he said, further urging the release of hostages. "I reiterate my call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. And nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." Meanwhile, foreign ministers from 13 countries have signed a letter warning Israel to halt its ground invasion of Rafah and to allow more aid to reach the Palestinian population. German news agency DPA reported that apart from the U.S., all other members of the G7 nations signed the four-page letter sent to Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. In the letter, the ministers called on Netanyahu’s government to alleviate the devastating and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza by opening all border crossings for aid supplies, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which is under Israeli military control. The letter was signed by the foreign ministers of the G7 states: Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Japan and Canada, as well as their counterparts from Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and Sweden. Head over to WWIII.news to get updates on the ongoing wars all over the world.

Sources for this article include:

WSJ.com Edition.CNN.com TheCradle.co Aljazeera.com

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