US Department of Defense Approves $20 Billion Arms Deal to Israel

The US Department of Defense approved on Tuesday the sale of weapons to Israel in a $20 billion deal that includes F-15 fighter jets, armored vehicles, tank shells and air-to-air missiles.

The US State Department announced in a letter to Congress that it had approved the sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel for $18.82 billion.

In addition, Israel will buy about 33,000 tank ammunition, 50,000 explosive mortar ammunition, and military trucks.

The F-15s, which will begin delivery in 2029, will modernize the Israeli fleet and include secure radars and communications equipment.

The US State Department's letter regarding Boeing's F-15 fighter jets stated that "the United States is committed to Israel's security, and it is essential to US national interests to help Israel develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability."

Regarding tank ammunition, the United States said the deal “will improve Israel’s ability to confront current and future enemy threats. It will strengthen its defenses and serve as a deterrent to regional threats.”

Congress could block the deal, but that would be a tough sell.

Human rights organizations and some left-leaning members of Biden's Democratic Party are urging the administration to limit or halt arms sales to Israel, expressing deep dismay at the civilian casualties in Israel's bloody war on Gaza.

Josh Boll, who resigned from the State Department last year in protest over his country's policy toward Gaza, said Israel had given the United States no reason to believe it was moving away from "absolute brutality."

“Allowing the transfer of billions of dollars’ worth of new weapons effectively gives Israel a blank check to continue its atrocities in Gaza and to escalate and expand the conflict into Lebanon,” added Paul, who now works for the Middle East human rights organization DAWN.

Haaretz newspaper said, "We are talking about a deal that was discussed between senior officials in Israel and the United States, and with aircraft manufacturing companies."

This deal requires the approval of the US House of Representatives and Senate, whose members will be able to submit reservations about the deal in the coming weeks, according to the same source.

For its part, the Maariv newspaper said that according to the Pentagon, the deal includes the sale of 100 F-15IA and F-15I aircraft, worth about $18.82 billion, 120 mm artillery shells worth $774.1 million, along with advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles worth up to $102.5 million.

The deal also includes modified M1148A1B2 tactical vehicles for Israel for $583.1 million, according to the same source.

According to Maariv, the expected date for the delivery of the planes, vehicles and bombs will not be soon, but rather within the next two to five years.

According to her, most of the total costs of the deal will be paid for by US aid money to Israel.

On Friday, the American network CNN reported that Washington is preparing to provide financial support worth $3.5 billion to Israel as part of the arms and military aid package approved by Congress months ago.

The network said, quoting informed sources, that the US State Department informed members of Congress that the US administration is preparing to provide Israel with $3.5 billion in funding to cover its military expenses.

US President Joe Biden approved a financial support package for Israel last April, worth $26 billion, including about $14 billion for military support.

With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, leaving more than 132,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amidst massive destruction and deadly famine.

In contempt of the international community, Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.

(Anatolia)