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The Biden administration has told Congress it intends to move forward with a plan for the United States to sell more than $1 billion worth of new weapons to Israel, according to three Congressional aides familiar with the deal.
Notification of the sale, which would include new tactical vehicles and munitions, comes as President Biden announced it. detained a shipment of bombs in Israel, hoping to prevent the use of U.S.-made weapons in a possible invasion of the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Last week, Mr. Biden said he would block delivery weapons such as bombs and missiles that could be fired into the densely populated area where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.
The potential arms transfer illustrates the narrow path the Biden administration is taking with Israel, trying to prevent an attack on Rafah and limit civilian casualties in Gaza, while continuing to provide a longtime ally that it says the president has the right to defend himself. A congressional aide said Congress has known about the arms deal for months and suggested the administration had simply been waiting for a deal. foreign aid plan with more help for Israel to be adopted before moving forward with the required notification process to Congress.
When asked about the package, which was reported earlier by the Wall Street JournalThe State Department referenced recent comments from Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, citing his continued commitment to providing Israel with military assistance to defend against threats in the region.
“The president has made it clear that he would not provide certain offensive weapons for such an operation, should it occur,” Mr. Sullivan said. “That hasn’t happened yet. And we are still working with Israel to find a better way to ensure the defeat of Hamas throughout Gaza, including Rafah. »
The administration is pushing for a ceasefire deal in which Hamas would release at least some of the hostages it took on Oct. 7, when it attacked Israel and sparked the war. But Qatar’s prime minister, a key player in the negotiations, said Tuesday they were “almost at an impasse.”
Mr. Biden initially embraced Israel after the Oct. 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people, but found himself increasingly at odds with its conduct of the war, which killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza, according to the country’s health authorities. .
Yet even as he threatened to withhold additional weapons last week, he made clear that the United States would provide weapons to ensure its ally’s security, including for its Iron Dome missile defense system and for its ” ability to respond to attacks” like that of Iran launched in April.
Informal notification of the arms transfer by the State Department to the required congressional committees begins a multi-step process for key foreign affairs lawmakers to informally review the terms of the arms transfer and deliberate with the department in private. The full Congress will then consider the package.
Edward Wong reports contributed.
