TEHRAN - The United States’ substantial appetite to deliver weapons to Israel shows no sign of abating despite expressing concern over high civilian deaths caused by the regime’s war of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli and German media say Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Jerusalem (al-Quds) on June 10 that the US would remove all restrictions on weapons transfers to Israel.
 
The reports suggested that Netanyahu has demanded Washington fully restore the frequency of arms shipments to Tel Aviv to the level after the eruption of the Gaza onslaught. 

Lip services 

On May 8, President Joe Biden threatened that his administration would not provide Israel with offensive weapons if it launched an operation in populated parts of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.  At that time, the Biden administration delayed a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel over concerns that its army could use them in Rafah. The city was the last refuge of more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population who had fled other parts of the territory amid Israel’s deadly strikes. 

Washington Post: Two key Democrats have agreed to support a major arms sale to Israel that is worth more than $18bn and includes 50 F-15 fighter jets. Later the White House said it had found “credible and reliable” Israeli assurances that the Netanyahu regime will use American weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, allowing for the further transfer of US arms to the regime. 

Israeli massacres 

Nonetheless, Israel carried out brutal massacres in Rafah and forced over one million people to flee the city. American media have admitted that Israel has recently used US-made bombs in strikes on civilian targets in Rafah which have claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians and sparked a global outcry.  
Israel carried out one of its most heinous atrocities on June 8 when its army butchered more than 270 Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp as part of an operation to free four captives. 

US hypocrisy 

On Monday, the Washington Post took the lid off another plan to transfer more US weapons to Israel despite growing international calls for halting arms supplies to the regime. 

Citing three US officials, it said two key Democrats have thrown their weight behind a major arms sale to Israel that includes 50 F-15 fighter jets worth more than $18 billion.

According to the Post, Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, signed off on the deal after facing intense pressure from the Biden administration and pro-Israel advocates to allow the transaction to move forward.  

The two Democrats, who had already expressed concern about the possibility of rising civilian deaths in Gaza due to Israel’s use of American weapons, are among four lawmakers who can effectively veto a foreign military sale.

Blinken has promised Netanyahu that the US will lift restrictions on arms shipments to Israel despite growing calls for halting weapons transfers to the regime. The Post’s report added that besides the F-15s, which are not scheduled to arrive in Israel for years, the Biden administration sought sign-off on air-to-air missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which retrofit unguided bombs with precision guidance.
The ultimate approval will make the transaction one of the largest arms sales to Israel since the regime launched war on Gaza on October 7, which has so far killed more than 37,000 Palestinians.  
As usual, it would be financed by US taxpayer funds. 

Bipartisan support for Israel 

Both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly support military aid to Israel. 
But Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration have made critical remarks about Israel’s war on Gaza over the past months. 
This is because the Democrats want to appease opposition to Israel’s war by Arab American voters and younger generations who can play a key role in helping Bide win reelection in the November presidential vote. 

Political ploy

More than a week ago, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution endorsing a US-backed ceasefire proposal that aims to end Israel’s near nine-month assault on Gaza.

But the US announced plans to send more weapons to Israel have raised questions about its true intentions over proposing such resolutions and ceasefire plans. 
The White House has devised these schemes as political ploys to shore up support among anti-war voters ahead of the upcoming presidential election. 

If the US was sincere in expressing concern for Palestinians in Gaza, it could use its leverage at the Security Council to force Israel to end the onslaught and attach conditions to military aid for the regime, not in words but in action.