US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden had delayed, say sources

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.

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.