FALCON POWERS – American officials told The Wall Street Journal that the Biden administration has postponed the process of selling a fleet of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, despite Congress approving the deal last month.
The American newspaper stated that the State Department was expected to formally notify Congress of the $18 billion deal, after two senior Democrats withdrew their objections. However, it has not done so yet.
On May 22, two senior Democratic leaders in Congress objected to the deal due to concerns about civilian casualties in the Gaza war. The US State Department told The Wall Street Journal that “there is no policy to slow down arms transfers”, adding: “We are looking tactically at the timing. It’s a matter of when.” In contrast, the White House declined to comment.
The sale of 50 American fighter jets is considered one of the largest arms deals with Israel in recent years, and comes at a time when US President Joe Biden is facing calls from leaders in his party to withhold American weapons to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept an end to the war in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him that the Biden administration is working to lift the restrictions imposed on arms shipments to Israel.
This is not the first time that talk has arisen about American restrictions on arming Israel, against the backdrop of the war it has been waging on the Gaza Strip for more than 8 months.
