The Washington Post reports that the United States has publicly expressed concern about Israel's long-threatened invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and the increasing number of civilian casualties in the enclave, but has also released billions of dollars worth of bombs. He also gave the go-ahead for the transfer of fighter jets to Israel.
The new weapons package includes more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and more than 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to Pentagon and State Department officials, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The report said the 2,000-pound bomb, which could harm people up to 1,000 feet (300 meters) away, was “linked to previous mass casualty incidents during Israeli military operations in Gaza.” Stated. The United States provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid to its longtime ally.
Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, D.C., said the transfers “are worth about $2.5 billion,” adding that “this comes despite the growing rift between the Israeli and U.S. governments. is being carried out,” he added.
The United States continues to provide arms packages to Israel while calling for an end to hostilities in the five-month war, and on Monday endorsed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of prisoners. The veto was not exercised.
Mark Owen-Jones, associate professor of Middle East studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University, told Al Jazeera that while the US government has been publicly pressuring Israel to “wind down” the war in Gaza, its policy moves are He said it was sending a completely different signal.
In the face of widespread international condemnation, including from Washington, Israel has launched a ground invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip that borders Egypt and is home to some 1.5 million forcibly displaced Palestinians. announced that it will start soon.
On Saturday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized the US, posting on X: [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to stop killing and arming civilians is an unprecedented principled and moral contradiction. ”
The ministry expressed regret at the “continued failure” on the part of the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to get Israel to respect the decision.
US senators have called on President Joe Biden to reduce military aid to Israel until humanitarian access to Gaza is secured. Many countries and rights groups are calling on Israel to comply with the ICJ's order to allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip, where famine has begun.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders called the move “obscene.”
In a post on said.
“We have to end the collusion. We don't need to drop any more bombs on Israel.”
The United States cannot beg Netanyahu to stop bombing civilians one day and then send in thousands of 2,000-pound bombs capable of destroying entire city blocks the next.
This is despicable.
We must end collusion. There is no need to drop more bombs on Israel. https://t.co/BqV0NkMtKa
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 29, 2024
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called on the international community to halt arms deliveries to Israel.
“The United Nations agency tells a horrifying story of suffering in Gaza. More than 30,000 people were killed. More than 2 million people starved to death. These facts shame the world,” he said. Posted on.
“Weapons must stop flowing to Israel. Israel must end this catastrophe. This is what international law, human values, demand,” he said. .
The White House declined to comment on the arms transfer.
'Business as usual'
Biden acknowledged Friday that many Arab Americans are “feeling the pain” over the war in Gaza. Still, he pledged continued support for Israel despite a public rift with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Netanyahu abruptly canceled a meeting between U.S. and Israeli officials scheduled to review Israel's operational plans in Rafah after Washington abstained from a Security Council vote.
In a turn of events, he requested that the meeting be rescheduled, and is expected to be held as early as Monday, broadcaster CNN reported.
Owen Jones told Al Jazeera that unrestricted aid to Israel, which aid groups say is hampering aid to Gaza as famine-like conditions spread, is making the US a “moral authority in the world”. He said it was undermining Biden's efforts to reposition himself.
“We need to keep in mind that just a few weeks ago, the United States passed a federal funding bill that reaffirms over $3 billion in military aid to Israel and reduces funding to UNRWA,” he said. He said that this is the main organization conducting the project. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“U.S. policy is really just business as usual.
“Biden is breaking the Leahy Act, or at least not enforcing it,” he said, referring to U.S. human rights law that prohibits the U.S. from supplying weapons to countries it believes are violating rights. said.
“How is Biden going to position himself as some kind of moral authority when he's violating laws that are meant to protect the human rights of people like the Palestinian people?”
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said Israel's threat to expand its ground invasion into the city of Rafah is “exhausting the people here who are tired of living in a state of panic.” He added that he feared that Rafah city would suffer the same fate as Gaza city. Or Khan Younis, whose “public facilities and infrastructure were destroyed.”