US approves precision bomb sales to Israel…’humanitarian ceasefire’ efforts fall flat

ORIGINAL LINK : http://mbiz.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20231107000106

On June 6th (local time), the Israeli army is preparing artillery near the southern Gaza Strip border in Israel. [AFP]

[Herald Economy = Son Mi-jung Reporter] The U.S. government has confirmed that it has approved the sale of guided bomb equipment worth 400 billion won (about $357 million) to Israel. This comes as the U.S. is persuading Israel to temporarily cease fire for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, and there are concerns that the weapon transfer could weaken these diplomatic efforts.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT) on June 6th (local time), the U.S. State Department recently sent a letter to the U.S. House and Senate Foreign Affairs Committee approving the sale of a kit to convert unguided bombs into more precise GPS guided weapons to Israel for $320 million.

Citing the letter, the WSJ reported that Rafael USA, a U.S. weapons manufacturer, will deliver equipment and services for the ‘SPICE Family Gliding Bomb Assembly’, a type of precision bomb kit, to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a weapons manufacturer owned by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

This sale is a direct purchase from a U.S. company by a foreign company without going through the U.S. government, so the State Department only needs to disclose approval through limited channels.

Israel’s request for approval to purchase these weapons was submitted earlier this year and went through a congressional committee and an informal review process. However, it did not receive final approval from the State Department before the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th.

According to the letter, the amount Israel previously ordered for this equipment amounts to about $430 million, which was approved by the State Department on February 5th.

This action comes as civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip are surging due to Israel’s attacks and the humanitarian crisis is escalating, leading to international condemnation.

Seth Binder of the Middle East Democracy Project, a U.S. think tank, said, “The Biden administration has been urging the Israeli government to temporarily cease humanitarian hostilities, but this hasty sale and other similar military support completely weaken these efforts.”