An Israeli government request for 24,000 assault rifles from the United States is drawing scrutiny from American lawmakers and some State Department officials who fear the weapons might end up in the hands of settlers and civilian militias trying to force Palestinians from land in the West Bank, where violence has been surging, U.S. officials say.
The three proposed tranches of semiautomatic and automatic rifles are valued at $34 million and are being ordered directly from American gunmakers, but they require State Department approval and congressional notification. Israel says the rifles would be used by the national police force, but has also indicated that they could be given to civilians, people familiar with the weapons orders told The New York Times.
The State Department gave informal notification of the sale last week to congressional committees, which ignited concerns and prompted requests for the department to ask Israel tougher questions about how it intends to use the arms. Within the department, officials working on human rights issues have expressed reservations, while those overseeing weapons sales intend to approve the orders and announce them in the coming days, U.S. officials say…..
…
State Department officials who oversee weapons sales have discussed potential concerns with Israeli counterparts. “We received assurances from the Israelis that these will only go to I.N.P.-controlled units,” Jessica Lewis, the assistant secretary in the political-military affairs bureau, said in a statement to The Times, referring to the Israeli National Police….
…
U.S. officials looking at the orders say this request from Israel differed from previous ones in that Israeli officials made explicit reference to the idea that the rifles might be given to civilian groups….
…
Ex-President Obama weighs in on the Gaza conflict….
“Nobody’s hands are clean.”
That’s what Obama told his former staffers at “Pod Save America” when asked about the current violence in the Middle East. In an excerpt released yesterdayof an interview that will run in the coming days, Obama emphasized shared responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that goes back decades — and cautioned listeners against ignoring the complexities of the roots of the bloodshed.
Yes, Obama said Hamas’s attack was “horrific.” But, he continued, the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and “what’s happening to Palestinians” is also “unbearable.”
“If you want to solve the problem, then you have to take in the whole truth. And you then have to admit nobody’s hands are clean, that all of us are complicit to some degree,” he said, arguing that the entire world bears responsibility for allowing the decades-long conflict to fester.
On the one hand, that posture isn’t entirely out of character for the former president — at least on the substance. Obama had a notoriously frosty relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ignored the American president’s attempts to ease tensions in the region, which included a push for an end to Israeli settlement expansion into Palestinian territory….
…
House Speaker Johnson defends a Israel aid bill that isn’t going anywhere in the Senate and or past President Biden’s desk….
Newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson defended his approach to redirect IRS funds to provide aid to Israel on Sunday, saying Republicans are “trying to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s resources.”….
…
House Republicans on Thursday passed a $14.5 billion package to provide military aid to Israel mostly on party lines, pulling from the IRS funding that was part of Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer previously called the plan “not serious,” and and President Joe Biden has threatened to veto the bill.
“We weighed priorities and said, it is more important to protect Israel than to hire more IRS agents,” Johnson said. Both Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell want the Israel aid incorporated in a larger bill that also provides funding for Ukraine, Taiwan and the border. Their legislation is not dependent on pulling funding from the IRS…..