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Edited by: TJVNews.com
The Biden administration has halted the delivery of over 27,000 U.S.-manufactured rifles intended for Israel’s national police, expressing concerns that the weaponry might be transferred to what they perceive to be “extremist” Israeli settlers residing in the Judea and Samaria region of Israel according to U.S. officials. A report on Thursday in the Wall Street Journal said that the delay in approval stems from the administration’s request for assurances from Israel that the firearms will exclusively be utilized by the Israeli National Police and incident response teams, with ongoing apprehensions about potential diversion to “extremist” factions.
The shipment comprises three cases of firearms, including M4 and M16 rifles, awaiting the mandated notification to Congress for over a month. As was noted in the WSJ report, despite the U.S. government expressing concerns and pressing for guarantees from Israel, the administration is yet to greenlight the transfer.
U.S. officials informed the Israeli government in recent weeks that the assurances provided regarding the restricted use of the weapons were insufficient, according to the WSJ report. The administration is yet to certify the transfer due to lingering doubts about the weapons falling into the hands of Israeli settlers who reside in Israel’s biblical heartland, known as Judea and Samaria, but known to the world s the West Bank.
The WSJ report said that the decision to hold back the shipment comes in the wake of an alleged increase in attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the Judea and Samaria region, with incidents reportedly doubling since the October 7th Hamas attacks which left 1200 dead and thousands seriously injured. United Nations reports indicate armed settlers in uniforms threatening Palestinians in villages and prompting over 1,000 Palestinians from at least 15 communities to flee their homes, the WSJ report said. The unrest has resulted in at least 270 Palestinian fatalities in Judea and Samaria since October 7.
IDF forces have located Hamas terror cells in the Judea and Samaria region, some of whom had planned deadly attacks on Israeli settlers. Other news sources have confirmed that the Judea and Samaria region is a hotbed of Hamas terrorism and that attacks on Jews living in the region has significantly increased over the last year.
A separate shipment of weaponry, approved prior to the October attacks by Hamas, has been dispatched to Israel in recent weeks, marking a distinction from the delayed delivery currently under scrutiny, the WSJ report said.
At a fundraiser event this week, President Biden singled out Israel’s minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, acknowledging the government’s intent to arm civilian security teams in the Judea and Samaria settlement block, as was indicated in the WSJ report. Biden emphasized what he perceived as the Israeli government’s stance against a two-state solution as a path to long term peace in the region and suggested that the government has been focusing on retribution not only against Hamas but “against all Palestinians.”
Earlier this month, the Biden administration imposed visa bans on individuals that he deemed responsible for destabilizing Judea and Samaria, particularly Israeli settlers capitalizing on the growing regional instability, according to the WSJ report. The State Department justified the visa bans by expressing dissatisfaction with the Israeli government’s perceived lack of action against Israeli settlers who they have defined as “extremists.” In response, Israel has not provided an immediate comment, and the State Department has remained silent on the matter, the WSJ report added.
Officials familiar with the discussions revealed that the delayed arms shipments are a result of concerns that the original sales proposal could facilitate the transfer of arms from the Israeli National Police to less organized civil protection units, some of which include settler groups. As was indicated in the WSJ report, members of Congress on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have reportedly urged the administration to remove the provision allowing such transfers to prevent weapons from reaching the hands of settlers, who have all been lumped into the category of “extremists” – especially amid the recent surge in violence.
In response to congressional concerns, the State Department has approached the Israeli government, signaling a desire to witness concrete steps taken to curb settler violence before approving the shipment of rifles, the WSJ reported.
The delay in arms shipments indicates a cautious approach by the Biden administration, aiming to balance security assistance with concerns about potential misuse of weaponry.
