(CNN) – For the second time this month, the US administration bypassed Congress to approve the sale of $150 million worth of military equipment to Israel.
A US State Department spokesman said on Friday that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Congress that he had taken an emergency decision to immediately approve the sale of 155 mm M107 rifles and related equipment to Israel.
He added: “Given the urgency of Israel’s defense needs, the Secretary informed Congress that he exercised his delegated authority to designate an existing state of emergency that required immediate approval.”
Additional items were added to previous sales, “bringing the total value of the sale to $147.5 million,” the spokesperson continued.
Earlier this month, the US administration rushed to sell thousands of munitions to Israel, bypassing the usual twenty-day period given to congressional committees to review such a sale.
The US State Department sent an emergency announcement to the oversight committees in Congress that more than 13,000 tank shells would be delivered to Israel without any “further information, details, or guarantees.”
A US State Department spokesperson said at the time: “We remain clear with the government of Israel that it must adhere to international humanitarian law and take every possible step to avoid harm to civilians.”
The $106 million deal was part of a larger order to sell a total of 45,000 tank shells to Israel.
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2023-12-29 22:39:19
