State Department notifies Congress of planned $8 billion arms sale to Israel
By Jennifer Hansler, CNN
(CNN) — The State Department has informally notified Congress that it intends to sell $8 billion in arms to Israel, a US official and another source familiar with the matter told CNN.
The State Department sent the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee the informal notification of the sale on Friday, the first day of the new Congress and just weeks before the Biden administration leaves office. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year accused the Biden administration of withholding weapons to Israel – a claim a Biden envoy called “unproductive” and “more importantly, completely untrue.”
Israel continues to face accusations from human rights groups of violations of international law, including in its use of US weapons, in its war with Hamas in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed. In May, the State Department said it was “reasonable to assess” that US weapons had been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law but stopped short of officially saying Israel had violated the law.
The proposed sale, which was first reported on by Axios, includes AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to be used against airborne threats, including drones, the US official said. It also includes artillery shells; Hellfire AGM-114 missiles; Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs); JDAM tail kits; 500-pound warheads; and FMU-152A/B bomb fuses, the sources said.
The US official said the proposed sale is intended “to support Israel’s long-term security by resupplying stocks of critical munitions and air defense capabilities.”
“The president has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its proxy organizations,” they told CNN. “We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel’s defense.”
The official also noted that some production and delivery of the munitions cases can be fulfilled through current US stock, but “the majority will take upwards of a year to several years to deliver.”
The informal notification process is a common practice in which the relevant congressional committees – in this case House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations – get a heads up on planned sales, allowing committee leadership to raise concerns, give their input or place holds.
The-CNN-Wire
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