The Biden administration confirmed it paused shipments of ammunition to Israel amid fears of a potential ground invasion near the Gaza border city of Rafah. Republicans demanded answers following this development.
Last month, Congress passed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine. The package allocated $15 billion for the Israeli military.
According to U.S. officials, the administration halted the shipment of 3,500 bombs to apply pressure on Israeli leadership. The White House expressed concerns that Israel could use the weapons its offensive in Rafah. Over 1 million Palestinians sought refuge in the city amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., accused the president of appeasing what he termed Biden’s “radical anti-Semitic base.”
“It is time for the Biden administration to stop holding up that aid to Israel,” Scalise said. “Congress came together in a very bipartisan way to pass that much-needed relief so that they can go out and root out a terrorist organization who killed Israelis, who killed Americans, who still has about 130 hostages that they’re holding. And the Biden administration is going to hold up the aid to Israel?”
Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Ted Budd, R-N.C., penned a letter to the Biden administration, demanding to know why Congress was not notified of the decision to delay the weapons shipment.
In the letter, Republicans asked for clarification on why the Biden administration withheld aid without informing Congress, whether there are plans to withhold aid in the future and how delaying aid helps Israel defend itself from terrorists.
The decision to postpone the weapons shipment follows President Biden’s repeated assurances since Oct. 7 that he stands with Israel. Biden emphasized his commitment to Israel’s security when signing the military aid package into law.
“My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad,” Biden stated two weeks ago. “The security of Israel is critical. We’ll always make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and terrorists it supports.”
In February, Biden issued a memorandum stipulating that recipients of U.S. military aid must adhere to U.S. laws. The Biden administration is set to deliver its verdict to Congress on Wednesday, May 8, regarding whether Israel violated international or U.S. laws when it conducted airstrikes on Gaza or withheld humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
If Israel is found to have violated U.S. laws, Biden could face increased pressure from Democratic lawmakers to continue withholding military aid to the Jewish state.
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