{"id":32694,"date":"2024-04-04T12:49:14","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T19:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32694"},"modified":"2024-04-04T12:49:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T19:49:16","slug":"beyond-parody-biden-pushing-for-18-billion-warplane-sale-to-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/04\/beyond-parody-biden-pushing-for-18-billion-warplane-sale-to-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Beyond Parody’: Biden Pushing for $18 Billion Warplane Sale to Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Israeli<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Israeli Air Force F-15I Ra’am warplanes fly in formation in this October 10, 2017 photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em>“Does anyone wonder why Netanyahu ignores Biden’s pleas for restraint in Gaza?” asked one critic.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apr 03, 2024 (ClommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palestine<\/a> advocates on Wednesday slammed the Biden administration as it pushes Congress to approve the sale of $18 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, despite public pronouncements of anger over ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza<\/a> and a federal ban on the U.S. arms transfers to human rights violators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times <\/em>reported<\/a> that the U.S. State Department has informally asked two congressional committees to begin the legislative review process for the deal, which involves the sale of as many as 50 McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighters to Israel, as well as munitions, training, and other support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As Israel is bombing and starving Palestinian civilians, Biden still wants to sell it $18 billion of F-15 fighter jets.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed deal\u2014which would be one of the largest and most lucrative arms sales to Israel in years\u2014comes amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, during which more than 115,000 Palestinians have been killed, maimed, or are missing and presumed dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planned sale also comes amid growing frustration among Biden administration officials over what President Joe Biden called<\/a> Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza. On Tuesday, Biden said<\/a> he was “outraged” and “heartbroken” by Israel’s airstrike<\/a> targeting a World Central Kitchen convoy that killed seven humanitarian aid workers, including one U.S. citizen. Biden acknowledged that the attack was “not a stand-alone incident” while asserting that Israel has “not done enough” to protect Palestinian civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Does anyone wonder why Netanyahu ignores Biden’s pleas for restraint in Gaza? Netanyahu sees them as empty words because, as Israel is bombing and starving Palestinian civilians, Biden still wants to sell it $18 billion of F-15 fighter jets,” former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said<\/a> Wednesday, referring to right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/_waleedshahid\/status\/1775336046420509059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1775336046420509059%7Ctwgr%5Ea8012705be8c39be0e7a71be3aa461c307e853a2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Farms-sales-to-israel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some congressional progressives have also come out against the proposed sale. Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.) asked<\/a>: “The United States wants Israel to let in more humanitarian aid, stop bombing civilians, and not invade Rafah. Netanyahu has ignored all of it. Why are we still sending him taxpayer dollars and weapons and expecting a different outcome?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, noted<\/a> that the “signs of hope in the Biden administration’s recent shift in rhetoric” and the U.S. abstention<\/a> from the most recent United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution have “been destroyed by the administration’s recent actions,” including the proposed F-15 sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Although the planes might not be delivered for years, agreeing to provide them in the midst of Israel’s war on Gaza sends a signal of support that runs contrary to the administration’s claims to be pressing the Netanyahu government to avoid civilian casualties and clear the way for humanitarian aid shipments,” he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hartung continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The sad truth is that there have been zero consequences from Washington for Israel’s crimes in Gaza. Regardless of the rhetoric, the weapons keep flowing and the killing continues. The Biden administration’s argument that it is simply giving Israel the means to defend itself willfully ignores the fact that killing over 32,000 people and attempting to deny them food and other essential goods goes far beyond defense, to the point that the International Court of Justice has suggested<\/a> that Israel’s actions could “plausibly” be considered a campaign of genocide.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Even worse,” Hartung added, “the tragedy in Gaza has been compounded by Israel’s attack<\/a> on Iran’s consulate in Syria, which has increased the chances of a wider Middle East war which could easily draw in U.S. personnel.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hartung and others have also voiced alarm over the Biden administration’s approval<\/a> of the transfer of munitions including 2,000-pound bombs, which Israel has used extensively in Gaza with devastating results. In one of the deadliest bombings of the war, Israel dropped<\/a> multiple 2,000-pound bombs on the Jabalia refugee camp on October 31, killing at least 126 civilians including 69 children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is beyond parody that Joe Biden actually said these words on 7th March, and is now pushing for an additional $18 Billion arms transfer to Israel.

I knew the world was upside down, but this feels like the greatest trick the devil ever pulled. pic.twitter.com\/em07PQRo7t<\/a><\/p>— Ousman Noor (@ousmannoor) April 3, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>