White House Asks State Dept., Pentagon for Israel-bound Weapons List: Axios

Axios news website quoted four U.S. officials as saying that the White House recently asked the State Department and the Pentagon for a list of all weapons transfers to ‘Israel’ that are planned or are up for approval in the coming weeks.

Axios claimed that the White House is seeking a full accounting of the government’s weapons assistance to ‘Israel’ as criticism and pressure grow across the political spectrum of U.S. support for ‘Israel’ in the war on Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

However, the website reported that the U.S. officials said the request is not a signal of an imminent move by the White House to slow-walk or suspend any weapons transfers to ‘Israel’ and stressed the Biden administration has no plans to restrict military assistance to ‘Israel’ at this time.

A U.S. official said another reason for the request was to check it with a list ‘Israel’ gave to the Biden administration that laid out the weapons systems Israel is prioritizing, Axios added.

The news website noted that a source with direct knowledge of the issue claimed the White House request was routine and has happened in recent years with U.S. military assistance to Ukraine.

A group of more than three dozen House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden and made the case that an Israeli invasion of Rafah could violate his requirement that U.S. military aid be used in accordance with international law, Axios reported.

An invasion of Rafah, they argued, “would likely contravene” with a new national security memorandum Biden signed last month requiring any recipient of U.S. military aid to provide “credible and reliable written assurances” it will comply with international law, according to Axios.

Source: Websites