US shields 'Israel' from scrutiny, violations with unlimited weapons
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The Israeli occupation enjoys many perks and exemptions from US law like modified human rights screening and preferred access to US arms.
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The tips of 155mm artillery shells are pictured near a self-propelled howitzer deployed at a position near the border with Lebanon in occupied territories. (AFP)
The general public has remained in the dark regarding up to nearly $1 billion in US military aid to "Israel", Responsible Statecraft reported.
The small weapons transfers to "Israel" happened since it is not required by law to notify Congress of any transfer that falls below the $25 million threshold, which the US has been delivering since October 7.
Such reports have been corroborated by The Washington Post, which released a similar report concerning how the US approved and executed more than 100 arms deals and foreign military sales to the Israeli regime since the onset of the war on Gaza in October.
The Post confirms that only two foreign military sales to the Israeli occupation have been publicly disclosed since the war on Gaza began.
According to former officials, such transfers have been made in the past for many reasons, and only approximately 2% of weapons transfers exceed the threshold for notification to Congress.
Additionally, many of those weapons were most likely pre-positioned in the occupation prior to the war. "Israel" holds a stockpile of American weaponry on its territory, to which it has special access.
Read more: Most Americans say US should suspend arms shipments to 'Israel': Poll
Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned in protest of US support for "Israel’s" war on Gaza, called the process "opaque", warning that it was uncertain just what weapons were being taken from the stockpile.
Officials report that the US efforts to protect "Israel" from human rights limitations and ensure its continuous access to military funding are far more extensive than any other.
These benefits include modified human rights screening, preferential access to US armaments, and a veto over American military sales to "Israel's" neighbors. Until now, the State Department has not conducted a formal evaluation of "Israel's" legal compliance during the war.
Even after the occupation defied an ICJ ruling to prevent genocide in Gaza, the US handed the occupation nearly 1,000 precision-guided munitions,
Paul told RS/ The New Arab that not holding the occupation accountable for the abuses not only creates an exception for "Israel" but also undermines US diplomacy with other nations.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reported the claims were "unequivocally false", claiming that all transfers have included notifications to Congress.
US law gives 'Israel' special status
RS notes that even when countries in the region ask for US weapons, US officials worry about what "Israel" might think since US law explicitly dictates that the US must give "Israel" a “qualitative military edge" over its neighbors.
One former senior US official in Cairo anonymously told RS that Egyptian officials would often request weapons from the US only to see the US "squirm and come up with some way to say ‘no’ without saying the Israelis won't approve it."
John Ramming-Chappell of the Center for Civilians in Conflict expressed that this was just another place where "Israel" held a "special status" that no one else enjoyed.
The Leahy legislation prohibits foreign armies from getting US help if American officials have information of "gross violations of human rights."
Usually, vetting occurs before the aid is given, but, for "Israel", the aid is distributed first.
Paul notes that in many cases, the occupation should be losing US weapons due to human rights abuses, yet such cases are repeatedly ignored by more senior government officials.
Concerning the restrictions of US aid into Gaza, many analysts and legislators feel "Israel" is in blatant violation of this legislation considering how little help is presently entering. However, the White House has yet to provide an explanation — or a formal waiver — for its inability to implement its vow.
Despite strife, US arms shipments 'to Israel will not be touched'
Israeli media cited senior officials in Washington on Sunday as saying that US President Joe Biden and his administration have been increasingly criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war on Gaza. Still, they affirmed that military aid to "Israel" will not be touched.
Israeli Channel 12 published data about the air train of weapons from the United States to "Israel". It includes tens of thousands of 155 mm artillery shells, tens of thousands of bomb guidance systems JDAMs, air-to-surface missiles, helicopters, and ammunition for the Iron Dome system, transported by a network of some 140 planes from around the world.
Earlier, a report by Haaretz detailed an “unprecedented air bridge” between the United States and “Israel,” explaining that over the past five months, Washington has transferred a colossal amount of its ammunition to the occupation from its bases and strategic outposts around the world.
The arsenal was exported from the Dover base in the US, Ramstein in Germany, or al-Odeid in Qatar, which is the largest base in the Middle East, where the US Central Command's primary headquarters are located.
Since October 7, at least 140 heavy air lifters landed in "Israel", mostly the "Nevatim" airbase, post-takeoff from international US bases, exporting military equipment.
