US-to-ISRAEL ARMS PIPELINE
In 2016 Pres. Obama signed an agreement with Israel promising $38 billion of arms aid over ten years. This was to maintain Israel’s “qualitative military edge” over other Middle East nations. US arms shipments have included bombs ranging from 250 to 2,000 pounds, mostly 500-pounders. These types of bombs have leveled many parts of Gaza. Since the October 2023 Hamas attack, Pres. Biden has requested from Congress $14 billion more in additional arms aid. This bill is currently stuck in the House of Representatives. In addition, Israel orders arms out of its own budget. For example, in January Israel ordered $18 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets.
As deaths among Palestinians, mostly civilians, have mounted above 32,000, calls have been made among progressive Democrats for a diminution or halt to US military aid to Israel. So far Pres. Biden has refused to agree to this, and US-provided bombs have continued to rain down on Gaza. The US has been rightly accused of hypocrisy, urging restraint on Israel while sending deadly weapons through the never-empty pipeline.
Source: The New York Times,4/6/24