Ceasefire-killing Biden bypasses Congress to rush more killer shells to Israhell

[yankeedoodle]

Biden Administration Bypasses Congress to Rush Tank Shells to Israel
https://countercurrents.org/2023/12/biden-administration-bypasses-congress-to-rush-tank-shells-to-israel/

Hours after United States Ambassador Robert Wood on Friday acted alone to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the Biden administration again illustrated its growing isolation in continuing to back Israel's onslaught as it bypassed Congress to send more weapons to the country's extreme right-wing government.

The U.S. Defense Department posted a notice online Saturday saying U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had informed Congress that a government sale of 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition was moving forward, even though Congress had not completed an informal review of the transaction.

The State Department invoked an emergency provision of the Arms Control Export Act to bypass the review process generally required for weapons sales to foreign nations. The sale, which Congress has no power to stop now that the provision has been invoked, was valued at more than $106 million.

"Rushing deadly weapons to the far-right and openly genocidal Israeli government without congressional review robs American voters of their voice in Congress, emboldens Netanyahu to kill more Palestinian civilians, and furthers stains our nation's standing in the world," said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Mitchell noted that the sale was finalized as media outlets confirmed Israeli tanks have "deliberately targeted and slaughtered journalists in Lebanon."

"The Biden administration's decision is an affront to democracy and an act of moral insanity," he said.

The State Department notified congressional committees of the sale around 11:00 pm EST Friday, hours after a new Pew Research poll showed that only 35% of Americans support the Biden administration's backing of Israel's attacks on Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces have now killed more than 17,700 Palestinians in Gaza in just over two months, while claiming they are targeting Hamas.

Thirteen members of the U.N. Security Council on Friday voted in favor of a humanitarian cease-fire, while the U.K. abstained from voting. The U.S. vetoed the resolution in a move CAIR condemned as "unconscionable."

"It is not clear what level of suffering by the Palestinian people would prompt our nation's leaders to act in their defense," said CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad.

Also on Saturday, the global charity Save the Children warned that at least 7,685 children under age five in Gaza are now so malnourished—a result of Israel's total blockade of the enclave that began in October and the delivery of just a small fraction of the aid that is needed—that they require "urgent medical treatment to avoid death."

"The repeated failure of the international community to act signifies a death knell to children," said Jason Lee, country director for Save the Children. "I've seen children and families roaming the streets of what hasn't been flattened in Gaza, with no food, nowhere to go, and nothing to survive on. Even the internationally-funded humanitarian aid response—Gaza's last lifeline—has been choked by Israeli-imposed restrictions."

"Gaza's children are being condemned to further bombardment, starvation, and disease," said Lee. "We must heed the lessons from the past and must immediately prevent 'atrocity crimes' from unfolding."

The intensifying opposition to Israel's U.S.- and U.K.-backed bombardment of Gaza was made apparent by an estimated 15,000-20,000 people who marched through London on Saturday to demand a cease-fire.

"We will continue to march," said the Stop the War Coalition, "until there's a cease-fire and justice for the Palestinians."

[abduLMaria]

Was going to post image files.

The US embassies have posts stating that today is the 75th anniversary of Human Rights - Yadda.

And it's Toys for Tots day - at the Whitehouse.

While Israel is just getting that shipment of 10,000 tank shells.

An English friend on Facebook listens to Scott Ritter a lot.

He has the impression that Hamas is successfully fighting back, and has only lost 5000 soldiers out of 30,000.

[yankeedoodle]

From Information Liberation
Biden Administration Bypasses Congress Once Again to Send Israel Weapons Aid
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64208

"For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism," the AP reports.

https://twitter.com/AmySpiro/status/1712439726546850118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1712439726546850118%7Ctwgr%5Ef7465abe43deb1695a94d83d16ae004f7f4108c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D64208

From AP, "The Biden administration once again bypasses Congress on an emergency weapons sale to Israel":  https://apnews.com/article/us-israel-gaza-arms-hamas-bypass-congress-1dc77f20aac4a797df6a2338b677da4f?

The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed to make the 155 mm shells that Israel has already purchased function.

"Given the urgency of Israel's defensive needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer," the department said.

"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces," it said.

[...] Blinken made a similar decision on Dec. 9, to approve the sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million.

Israel is strong enough to defend itself (with the hundreds of billions of dollars in effective aid American taxpayers have provided) but America needs to pay for their war and send aircraft carriers off their coast to support their ethnic cleansing campaign with our military might.

https://twitter.com/groypergreen07/status/1713717919639859212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713717919639859212%7Ctwgr%5Ef7465abe43deb1695a94d83d16ae004f7f4108c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D64208

As I reported on Friday, Israel's also ordering us now to go to war with Iran on their behalf.  https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64207