The Trump administration proceeded with the sale of over 20,000 U.S.-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and a source familiar with the deal, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe Biden delayed over concerns that the weapons might be used by extremist Israeli settlers.
On March 6, the U.S. State Department sent a notification to Congress of the $24 million sale of the Colt Carbine 5.56 mm caliber fully automatic rifles, stating the end user would be the Israeli National Police, as per the document.
Although the rifle sale is a minor transaction compared to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that U.S. supplies to Israel. But it drew attention when the Joe Biden administration postponed the sale over concerns that the weapons might be used by of Israeli settlers, some of whom have attacked Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration had introduced sanctions on individuals and organizations alleged of committing violence in the West Bank, which has seen a increase in attacks Israeli settlers on Palestinians.
On January 20, his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order revoking the sanctions on the Israeli settlers in a reversal of United States policy. Since then, his administration has approved the sale of weapons to Israel worth billions of dollars.
On March 6 congressional notification stated the United States government had taken into account “political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations.”
The U.S. State Department did not provide comment when asked whether the administration had requested guarantees from Israel on use of the weapons.
CLOSE TIES
Since a 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state, and has built settlements that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Settler violence had been on the rise prior to the eruption of the Gaza war, and has worsened since the conflict began over a year ago.
Trump has forged close ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging to back Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His administration has in some cases pushed ahead with Israel arms sales despite requests from Democratic U.S. lawmakers that the sales be paused until they received more information.
The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a bid to block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel over human rights concerns, voting 82-15 and 83-15 to reject two resolutions of disapproval over sales of massive bombs and other offensive military equipment.
The resolutions were offered by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
The rifle sale had been put on hold following Democratic lawmakers objected and sought information on how Israel planned to use them. The congressional committees eventually cleared the sale but the Biden administration kept the hold in place.
The latest episode in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian dispute started with a Hamas strike on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, as per the Israeli tallies. Israel’s campaign has so far killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, a far-right member of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, oversees the Israeli police force. According to the Times of Israel newspaper report in November 2023 that his ministry put “a heavy emphasis on arming civilian security squads” in the aftermath of October 7 attacks.