A Biden administration plan to sell $18 billion in F-15 fighter jets to Israel is moving forward after two top Democratic holdouts in Congress signed off on the deal, according to several people familiar with the sale.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee who publicly opposed the transfer, citing Israel’s tactics during its campaign in Gaza, has expressed his approval of the deal, one of the largest U.S -Arms sales to Israel repealed in years. Mr. Meeks said the sale would take years to complete and that he supported the Biden administration’s plans to halt sales of other ammunition.
“I am in close contact with the White House and the National Security Council on this and other Israel weapons cases and have repeatedly called on the administration to continue to press Israel for significant and concrete improvements on all fronts when it comes to humanitarian efforts.” Limit of civilian casualties,” Mr. Meeks said in a statement.
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, who had delayed the signing but never publicly said he was blocking the deal, also agreed to move forward with it, joining leading Republicans who had agreed to the plan months ago.
Completing the informal consultation process with Congress allows the State Department to move forward with formally notifying Congress of the sale, the final step before signing the deal. The ministry declined to comment on the weapons orders or whether that formal notification would be made soon.
Congressional approval of arms sales was almost always a given when it came to Israel. That changed in recent months as concerns grew in the United States over Israel’s conduct of the war against Hamas and Democrats in Congress increasingly hinted that they could use their influence over arms transfers to demand that Israel change its tactics.
The decision to cave to pressure from the Biden administration was a stark reversal for Mr. Meeks, who had openly opposed the deal, expressing frustration with Israel’s actions in the war, which have resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian casualties contributed to triggering a hunger crisis in Gaza.
“I don’t want to see the type of weapons Israel has to use cause more deaths,” Meeks said in an interview with CNN in April. “I want to make sure that humanitarian aid arrives. I don’t want people to starve. And I want Hamas to release the hostages.”
Asked whether he would hold off on selling the Jets, he said: “I will make that decision once I see what those assurances are.”
Mr. Meeks did not make it clear Monday whether he had received those assurances.
The order, which would include up to 50 planes and take several years to deliver, still faces potential hurdles from a number of outspoken lawmakers who will have the opportunity to register their opposition to the sale before it can be finalized and approved .
The State Department provided an informal notice of the F-15 order in January to two congressional committees, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. In the informal review process, these committees can ask the ministry questions about how the recipient country plans to use the weapons. The two top Republicans on those panels, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho and Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, immediately agreed.
A spokesman for Mr. Cardin said the review of the order went through the regular consultation process and that all concerns had been addressed by the administration.
Edward Wong contributed reporting.
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2024-06-18 03:52:55
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