By Jake Johnson
"Harris is saying she will reject 77% of Democrats, 61% of Americans, international law, domestic U.S. law, and basic humanity to continue the flow of weapons to Israel while it stands accused of genocide," said one analyst.
By Jake Johnson
"Harris is saying she will reject 77% of Democrats, 61% of Americans, international law, domestic U.S. law, and basic humanity to continue the flow of weapons to Israel while it stands accused of genocide," said one analyst.
By Jake Johnson
On average, the Biden administration has sent Israel "a weapons shipment every 12 hours" since October, noted the IMEU Policy Project.
The Israeli government announced Monday that it has received over 50,000 tons of military equipment—including armored vehicles and munitions—from the United States during its assault on the Gaza Strip, where most of the population is now displaced and at growing risk of starvation.
The IMEU Policy Project, an affiliate of the Institute for Middle East Understanding, noted that according to the Israeli government's figures, the Biden administration has on average sent the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "a weapons shipment every 12 hours, for nearly 11 months"—arms "that are used to kill Palestinian civilians."
The Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. "equipment procured and transported includes armored vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear, and medical equipment, which are crucial for sustaining the IDF's operational capabilities during the ongoing war."
Josh Ruebner, policy director at the IMEU Policy Project, wrote that the new shipment numbers underscore that "the U.S. is deeply complicit in Israel's genocide."
"Weapons to Israel violate U.S. laws and policies that are supposed to prevent atrocities," Ruebner added.
Throughout its nearly 11-month assault on Gaza, Israel's military has repeatedly used U.S.-made weaponry to target family homes, crowded markets, and camps of displaced people, prompting global calls for an arms embargo against the country.
In the face of what Amnesty International has called "damning evidence of war crimes," the Biden administration has continued to approve weapons transfers to Israel, including a recent $20 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets and tens of thousands of mortar shells.
"More extraordinary than the price tag of these arms deals is that the White House made them public," Stephen Semler, co-founder of the Security Policy Reform Institute, wrote Monday. "Prior to last week's announcements, it had disclosed just two arms sales to Israel. By March, the Biden administration had already greenlit more than 100 separate weapons deals for Israel."
According to a new Amnesty report, Israeli forces on May 26 used "two U.S.-made GBU-39 guided bombs" in a pair of deadly airstrikes on a makeshift camp for displaced people in Rafah. The strikes killed at least 36 people, including six children.
Less than a week after U.S. President Joe Biden said he was pausing a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel, citing concerns over the safety of civilians in Rafah and other "population centers" in Gaza, the White House informed Congress Tuesday that it will soon send over $1 billion more in arms and ammunition to the Israel Defense Forces.
The package includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles, and $60 million in mortar rounds, congressional aides toldThe Associated Press.