For the second time this month, the administration of US President Joe Biden has approved an emergency arms sale to Israel worth $147.5 million, bypassing Congress.
What does US approval of arms sales to Israel mean
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Congress that he had approved a second emergency sale of equipment worth $147.5 million, including fuses, charges and fuzes needed to operate the 155mm shells that Israel had already purchased.
Given the urgency of Israel's defence needs, the Secretary informed Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority and determined that an emergency existed that required immediate approval of the transfer, the State Department said.
In this case, the definition of an emergency means that the sale of arms to the government of Israel must be urgent in order to circumvent the requirement for congressional hearings.
Such decisions are rare, but not unprecedented, when the administration sees an urgent need for arms supplies without waiting for legislative approval.
For the second time since December, the US administration has used this mechanism to sell weapons to Israel under a procedure that does not require review and approval by members of the US Congress.
The USA sold arms to Israel for 106 million dollars
Blinken passed on 9 December, approving the sale of nearly 14,000 tank munitions to Israel for more than $106 million.
The request for support for Israel came amid controversy over the use of US weapons in Gaza. Israel is blamed for numerous civilian casualties. The Israeli military claims that it is attacking the military infrastructure of Hamas, which the US and EU have designated a terrorist group.
In October, US President Joe Biden sent a request to Congress for international security funding, including $105 billion to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Of these funds, the share for Ukraine should be more than $60 billion, and for Israel — $14 billion.
Earlier this week, the bill was blocked by the US Senate. The Republicans who voted against it said they were not against helping other countries, but were not ready to give in to demands for stronger security measures on the border with Mexico.
