As a long-time ally, the United States has authorized a significant arms shipment to Israel, which many international organizations and individuals have condemned for its severe violations of fundamental rights. This has raised a lot of eyebrows in terms of the UN Security Council’s long-stated support for a two-state solution. The exact package of the bill exceeds 1800 pounds of MK84 2,000 lb bombs and 500 pounds of MK82 500 lb bombs. Moreover, it requests an additional $3.8 billion a year in military assistance.
This development is happening in the heat of the current conflict, with some members of President Joe Biden’s party seeking to cut US military aid to Israel, which is happening during that conflict. Emergency processes were applied to the transfers of some arms (as stated in the summaries, the contract values for the sales of tank and artillery munitions to Israel were $106.5 million and $147.5 million, respectively).
Otherwise, the US mostly concluded the green light for the “emergency” sales to be additional military aid that the US provided to Israel for decades. One of the most crucial furnishings Israel has is sophisticated weaponry, including F-35 warplanes and anti-missile defence systems such as the Iron Dome.
Israel has had such a position for the longest time, for since World War II, it has become the top USA assistance receiver by far, surpassing what should be adjusted for inflation of about $300 billion. The annual military aid totals $3.8 billion in recent years, and separately it has been allocated with more funding for missile defense and homeland security.
The eventual decision to provide military equipment to Israel only shows that there has always been a mutual understanding between the United States and Israel, although, along the way, this might be viewed as excessive assistance that questions its purpose when there is an ongoing conflict.
