Washington DC [US], March 2 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (local time) announced a significant boost in military assistance to Israel, with approximately USD 4 billion in aid set to be expedited.
This move reverses the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which had withheld certain weapons and ammunition from Israel.
"I have signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The decision to reverse the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump," said Rubio.
The decision is seen as a testament to the strong alliance between the US and Israel, with President Trump reaffirming America's commitment to Israel's security. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly USD 12 billion in major Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Israel.
"Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major FMS sales to Israel. This important decision coincides with President Trump's repeal of a Biden-era memorandum which had imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies," said Rubio.
The Trump Administration has pledged to continue using all available tools to support Israel's security, including countering security threats.
"The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America's long-standing commitment to Israel's security, including means to counter security threats," added the US Secretary of State.
Biden had denied withholding arms from Israel, save for a single batch of 2,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs, which arrived in Israel last month after Trump unfroze the shipment, The Times of Israel reported.
Rubio referred to Trump's rescinding on Monday of National Security Memorandum 20. The order, signed by Biden last year amid lobbying by progressives in his Democratic party, had required recipients of US arms to commit in writing not to use them to target civilians or restrict humanitarian aid, as per Times of Israel.
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