US government bypasses Congress to approve $147.5 million weapons sales to Israel

Middle East, News, US December 31, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Biden Administration made a second emergency determination in less than a month to bypass the United States Congress to approve $147.5 million in weapons sales for Israel. The weapons sale comes at a time when Israel has intensified its brutal attack in the Gaza Strip killing thousands of innocent civilians.

“Given the urgency of Israel’s defensive needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement as it announced the approval of weapons sale to Tel Aviv.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Congress on December 30, 2023, that he issued a second emergency determination for Israel. “The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces,” Blinken said in his statement.

The latest package includes auxiliary items, including fuses, charges, and primers that Israel would require to make the 155mm shells that it had previously purchased. Israel will also be purchasing M107 projectiles from the U.S., which are artillery shells that will cause widespread destruction in a densely populated area such as Gaza.

Earlier on December 9, Blinken made a similar decision to approve the sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million.

*^{Israeli tanks are stationed near the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2023. (Image Credit: AP)}*

Emergency determination

The rift between the White House and the U.S. Congress is increasing in the context of funding the ongoing conflicts. The latest development coincides with Joe Biden’s stalled request for an approximately $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other national security needs in Congress.

The delay is entangled in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security. Some Democratic lawmakers have suggested tying the proposed $14.3 billion in American assistance to Israel to specific actions by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, particularly in reducing civilian casualties in Gaza during the conflict with Hamas.

Approval for weapons sales to foreign countries from the U.S. is a two-step process. After a request is submitted by another country to purchase U.S.-made weapons, it has to be approved by the State Department and then by Congress before it can be finalized into a deal.

The emergency determination implies that the sale request will bypass the mandatory congressional review. While quite unusual, such determinations are not unprecedented. Such steps in the past have met with resistance from U.S. lawmakers, who normally have a period to weigh in on proposed weapons transfers and, in some cases, block them.

Anti-war protesters raise their "bloody" hands behind U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken — ^{Anti-war protesters raise their “bloody” hands behind U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine, as well as bolster border security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on October 31. (Image Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)}

The State Department usually takes the route of emergency determination when the Congress and administration are not on the same page. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came under heavy criticism by lawmakers in May 2019, when he approved a similar emergency determination for an $8.1 billion sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.