War turns spotlight on U.S. weapons

In fall 2016, the Obama administration sealed a major military agreement with Israel that committed the United States to giving the country $38 billion in arms over 10 years.

“The continued supply of the world’s most advanced weapons technology will ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself from all manner of threats,” President Barack Obama said.

At the time, the agreement was not controversial. It was a period of relative calm for Israel, and few officials in Washington expressed concern about how the U.S. arms might one day be used.

Now that military aid package, which guarantees Israel $3.3 billion per year to buy weapons, along with an additional $500 million annually for missile defense, has become a flashpoint for the Biden administration. A vocal minority of lawmakers in Congress backed by liberal activists are demanding that President Joe Biden restrict or even halt arms shipments to Israel because of its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Biden has been sharply critical of what he on one occasion called “indiscriminate bombing” in Israel’s war campaign, but he has resisted placing limits on U.S. military aid.

The United States and Israel have had tight military relations for decades, stretching across Democratic and Republican administrations. Israel has purchased much of its critical equipment from the United States, including fighter jets, helicopters, air defense missiles and unguided and guided bombs, which have been dropped in Gaza. Legislation mandates that the U.S. government help Israel maintain force superiority — or its “qualitative military edge” — over other Middle Eastern nations.

The process of arms delivery to Israel is opaque, and the pipeline for weapons to the country is long. The United States has sent tens of thousands of weapons to the country since the Oct. 7 killings by Hamas attackers, but many were approved by Congress and the State Department long ago and funded with money mandated by the Obamaera agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding.

“At any given time, delivery on these sales is constantly taking place,” said Dana Stroul, who recently departed as the Pentagon’s top official for Middle East affairs.

Biden has the power to limit any foreign arms deliveries, even ones previously approved by Congress. Far from cutting off Israel, however, he is pushing a request he made shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks for $14 billion in additional arms aid to the country and U.S. military operations in the Middle East. The money has been stalled in Congress amid disputes over Ukraine aid and U.S. border security and faces growing Democratic concern.

Because of a legal loophole, the State Department does not have to tell Congress and the public about some new arms orders placed by Israel since Oct. 7 since they fall below a certain dollar value. Congressional officials have criticized the secrecy, which stands in contrast to the Biden administration’s public fanfare around arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Since the Hamas attacks, State Department officials have continued to authorize arms shipments to Israel that are tranches of orders, or what officials call “cases,” approved earlier by the department and by Congress — often years ago, and often for delivery in batches over a long period. Officials describe this step as pro forma. The authorizations have occurred almost daily in recent weeks and are in line with Biden’s policy of giving full support to Israel.

But Biden hinted Thursday about a possible shift. In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden warned that U.S. policy could change if Israel does not take more action to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza, according to a White House summary of the conversation.

Israel regularly receives arms from the U.S. Defense Department, as well as directly from U.S. weapons makers. The largest arms orders often are filled over years in smaller groups of specific items.

For Israel’s immediate needs since Oct. 7, defense officials have drawn from U.S. military stockpiles, including one in Israel.

Since Oct. 7, Israel has placed new orders. The State Department needs to notify Congress only when a price tag is above a certain threshold. That amount varies by country and the type of military aid. If Israel orders a major weapons system, the department tells Congress only if the tranche is valued at more than $25 million.

Congressional officials are pushing the State Department to give them more information on orders that fall below the price tag threshold.

However, at least three of the new Israeli orders have crossed the threshold required for congressional review — and Secretary of State Antony Blinken bypassed that twice. In December, Blinken invoked a rare emergency authority to avoid legislative review and push through two of those orders worth $253 million in total, for tank ammunition and for artillery shells.

Within the State Department, there has been some dissent about the arms transfers, reflected in three cables sent to Blinken last fall and in an internal exchange after a recent White House move.

Biden issued a national security memorandum in February requiring all recipients of U.S. military aid to provide written promises that their forces abide by international law. The move was intended to defuse growing pressure in Congress. Critics say the exercise adds little to existing U.S. requirements that military aid recipients observe international and humanitarian law.

After Israel submitted its assurances last month, officials in the two State Department bureaus that focus on human rights and on refugees raised concerns with Blinken about Israel’s commitment, a U.S. official said. But Blinken accepted Israel’s assurances.

Speaking in general terms, Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, said last month that when it comes to Israel, U.S. officials “have had ongoing assessments about their compliance with international humanitarian law.”