WSJ: Biden administration delays moving forward with F-15 sale to Israel

The Biden administration hasn’t moved forward with the sale of a fleet of F-15 jet fighters to Israel, even after congressional leaders agreed to allow the major weapons deal to proceed last month, the Wall Street Journal reports quoting U.S. officials.

Two top congressional Democratic leaders on May 22 removed a hold they had placed on the deal over concerns about civilian deaths in the war in Gaza. Releasing the hold would allow the State Department to formally notify lawmakers of the sale—a requirement for a major weapons deal to proceed—but the administration hasn’t yet taken that step, according to administration and congressional officials.

The $18 billion sale of 50 warplanes is one of the largest arms deals with Israel in recent years and comes as President Biden is facing calls from leaders in his own party to withhold American weapons to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept an end to the Gaza war. The administration also is urging Israel to de-escalate tensions along its northern border with Lebanon.

The potential sale also comes during a prolonged U.S.-backed effort to secure a cease-fire that would stop the fighting in Gaza and free Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The effort has involved months of complex diplomacy by the U.S. along with Egypt and Qatar, who are mediating in the talks between Israel and Hamas.

The delay illustrates a dilemma facing Biden, who is contending with pressure from his own party and criticism from Republicans. The war in Gaza has become one of the most contentious foreign-policy issues in the November U.S. presidential election.

The U.S. has sent Israel tens of thousands of bombs, tank and artillery ammunition, precision weapons and air-defence equipment since the war began, often drawing on $23 billion worth of weapons transfers that have been previously approved by Congress.

The Biden administration in May paused a shipment of weapons that included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs as the White House was urging Israel to pull back from a full-scale assault on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. More than a million Palestinian civilians were sheltering in the area at the time. Israel has since gone ahead with the operation, though U.S. officials said it has adjusted its tactics in response to White House concerns.

The administration separately took steps in May to proceed with the future transfer of more than $1 billion of armaments including tank ammunition, mortar rounds and vehicles for the Israeli military. Netanyahu is set to address Congress in July.