The United States plans to sell 45,000 Merkava tank shells to Israel amid ongoing fighting in Gaza. The Joe Biden administration has called on the US Congress to pass this proposal. This information was obtained from four sources related to the proposal.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have continued to attack Gaza indiscriminately. More than 17 thousand people lost their lives, most of whom were women and children. More than 23000 residents of Gaza of 18 lakh people have become refugees.
In this situation, the Biden administration's initiative to sell artillery shells to Israel has raised fears of using US-made weapons on innocent people in Gaza in the ongoing war.
According to sources, the United States will earn more than 50 crore by selling these artillery shells to Israel. But the initiative is not part of the more than 11 thousand crore in new aid funds President Joe Biden has promised for Ukraine and Israel. Recently, the US Senate blocked the bill brought on this aid proposal by Biden.
In this situation, the Biden administration fears that the proposal to sell artillery shells to Israel may also be blocked. Therefore, the administration has strongly appealed to Congress to pass the proposal, according to current and former government officials.
Jose Paul, a former US State Department official, told Reuters that the State Department has called for quick approval of the proposal for the sale of artillery shells.
He said that the proposal for the sale of ammunition was submitted to the Congress committee at the beginning of last week. Verification may take up to 20 days.
It should be noted that Paul resigned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last October. He quit after accusing Joe Biden's administration of "blindly supporting" Israel.
Two related sources also said that the Biden administration may use the Arms Export Control Act to sell 13,000 of the 45,000 artillery shells to Israel.
Under this, the opportunity to sell ammunition can be used to bypass the deadline for congressional committee and scrutiny. However, the final decision has not been taken yet.
When asked about this, the spokesperson of the US State Department refused to comment. However, plans to sell arms have not been denied.