State Dept notifies Congress of $7 billion arms sale to Israel

The first arms package, valued at $6.75 billion, includes a range of munitions and bomb components set for delivery this year, while the second, worth $600 million, consists of 3,000 Hellfire missiles scheduled for delivery in 2028.

By JNS

The U.S. State Department has notified Congress about its plan to sell $7 billion worth of weapons to Jerusalem, on the backdrop of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House last week.

As the formal notice typically comes after an appeal to the top four lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who can raise objections, an approval by Congress is now more likely to occur, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

The plan consists of two separate plans that were submitted to Congress on Friday.

The first includes an array of The first arms package, valued at $6.75 billion, includes a range of munitions and bomb components set for delivery this year, while the second, worth $600 million, consists of 3,000 Hellfire missiles scheduled for delivery in 2028.munitions from 166 small-diameter bombs to 2,800 500-pound bombs, as well as thousands of guidance kits, fuses and other bomb components and support equipment, totaling $6.75 billion and to begin delivery this year, according to the report.

The second arms package, for $600 million, includes 3,000 Hellfire missiles and will begin its delivery in 2028, with additional training by the U.S. military.

Since entering into office on Jan. 20, U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a partial arms embargo on 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, withheld by the Biden administration over concerns about the war in Gaza.

To a question as to why he released the bomb sale, Trump responded, “Because they [Israel] bought them.”

Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet Trump at the Oval Office after his second inauguration, where the president proposed a plan to allow the Palestinian to voluntarily depart from the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle elsewhere.

The two men also discussed the present Gaza ceasefire, as well as the strategy to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the month that Netanyahu and his team are expected to press Trump to move forward with a separate set of arms transfers initially requested by the Biden administration, totaling more than $8 billion.

“The weapons haven’t yet received full approval because of a hold by some Democratic lawmakers,” the paper noted, citing a congressional official.

Democrats have continued to express reservations about the weapons deal as they engage with the new administration, said a spokesman for the Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

In the wake of Trump’s shipment approval regarding 2,000-pound bombs, Netanyahu said in a video message, “Thank you, President Trump, for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity.”