Biden admin. again bypasses Congress to supply weapons to Israel

US President Joe Biden’s administration has for a second time in less than a month bypassed Congress in order to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel despite growing international outrage over Washington’s support for the Tel Aviv regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was cited by the State Department as saying in a statement on Friday that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5m sale of arms to Israel amid Tel Aviv’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Blinken said Israel had requested that fuses, chargers and primers of 155mm high-explosive artillery munitions be added to previous purchases, increasing their estimated total cost from US$96.51 million to US$147.5 million and requiring a new notification.

The sale was approved under an emergency provision that waives the usual congressional review.

The same provision was used earlier in December to approve the sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of 120mm tank ammunition, which is worth more than $106m.

“Given the urgency of Israel’s … needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer,” the State Department said, stressing that, “The United States is committed to the security of Israel.”

Friday’s emergency determination comes as the United States and its Western allies are pressing ahead with their financial and logistical support to Israel in its brutal aggression against Gaza since early October.