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News > Palestine

US Approves $735m Sale of Precision-Guided Munitions to Israel

  • US President Joe Biden agreed to channel more funds, as much as $735 million, to help Israel continue attacking Palestine.

    US President Joe Biden agreed to channel more funds, as much as $735 million, to help Israel continue attacking Palestine. | Photo: Twitter/@zahirahsitinur

Published 17 May 2021
Opinion

The decision has been made in the context of the escalation of violence between the Jewish state and the Gaza Strip.

The Biden Administration has given the green light to the sale of high-precision-guided weaponry to Israel for a total of $735 million, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The decision was made amid the most significant escalation of violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip since 2014.

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As detailed by the U.S. media, the U.S. Congress was notified last May 5 about the plans to carry out the transaction, that is, almost a week before Hamas retaliated with missile attacks against Israeli territory.

Since the beginning of the fighting, Washington has spoken out in favor of an immediate cease-fire but at the same time expressed its support for Israel to defend itself against the attacks.

While this position traditionally had the support of most U.S. lawmakers, some Democratic representatives have raised concerns about the potential arms sale. They are asking the Administration for more details and timelines for delivery.

"Over the past week, Israeli military attacks have killed many civilians and destroyed the building that housed the Associated Press, a U.S. company that reports on events in Gaza," one member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told The Washington Post.

"Enabling this proposed sale of smart bombs to go through without putting pressure on Israel to accept a cease-fire will only make possible further carnage," he added.

Confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces began on the night of May 7 at the Al Aqsa Mosque during protests against the eviction of Palestinian families from an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem and the tightening of "security measures" in the area.

Last Monday, Hamas began firing rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, where hostilities escalated rapidly, resulting in the heaviest Palestinian-Israeli fighting since the 50-day war of mid-2014. The exchanges of fire do not cease, and, for the time being, there are no signs of a de-escalation of the tension.

According to Palestinian Health Ministry data since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Israeli attacks in Gaza have left 198 Palestinians dead, including 58 children and 35 women. Among Israelis, at least ten people have been killed, including two children.

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