WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has told Congress it plans to sell nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel, a fresh surge of support for the US ally as it faces increasing isolation over its war in Gaza.
It includes one $3.8 billion sale for 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters, nearly doubling Israel’s current stocks, and a second $1.9 billion sale for 3,200 infantry assault vehicles for Israeli army, according to a US official and another person familiar with the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public.
The packages would not be delivered for two to three years or longer.
The huge sales come as US plans to broker an end to the nearly two-year war between Israel and Hamas have stalled and after Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, drew widespread condemnation among US allies in the Middle East.
The US has kept up its support despite growing international pressure on Israel and attempts from a growing number of US Senate Democrats to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.
The State Department declined to comment on the sales, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Israel has launched a new offensive, pressing forward with plans to take over Gaza City, as a professional organization of scholars studying genocide has said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The U.K, which last year said it was suspending exports of some weapons to Israel out of concerns they could be used to violate international humanitarian laws, recently barred Israeli government officials from attending the country’s biggest arms fair.
Turkiye also said it was closing its airspace to Israeli government planes and any cargo of arms for the Israeli military, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a speech condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza as disproportionate.
Trump said Friday that he plans to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington next week, with plans to discuss the purchases of Boeing aircraft and a deal for F-16 fighter jets.
The Biden administration paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel over concerns about civilian casualties, but Trump lifted that hold when he took office in January.
The Trump administration has already approved about $12 billion in major military assistance to Israel this year. Most recently, the US in June approved a half-billion-dollar arms sale to Israel to resupply its military with bomb guidance kits for precision.
Trump administration proposes selling nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel
https://arab.news/cg6y6
Trump administration proposes selling nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel
- It includes one $3.8 billion sale for 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters
- The packages would not be delivered for two to three years or longer
Hong Kong plans to buy homes devastated in deadly high-rise fire
HONG KONG: Hong Kong proposes to spend about HK$4 billion ($512 million) to buy out the owners of homes in a high-rise housing complex ravaged by a massive fire that killed more than 160 in November, authorities said on Saturday.
The prices offered will be HK$8,000 per sq. ft. without a land premium payment, and HK$10,500 per sq. ft for those receiving such a payment, officials in the Asian financial hub told a media briefing.
“We believe the proposed price is sufficient for the affected residents to relocate and secure long-term housing,” said Wong Wai-lun, Hong Kong’s deputy financial secretary.
The government also offered an apartment exchange program for the 4,600 affected tenants, who lived in nearly 2,000 housing units at the complex, Wang Fuk Court.
The total outlay, estimated at HK$6.8 billion, will drop by HK$2.8 billion from a contribution by a relief fund, and could go lower still after insurance compensation in factored in, the officials said. ($1=7.8148 Hong Kong dollars)
