President Joe Biden's istration has approved a potential sale estimated at $735 million consisting of JDAM (t Direct Attack Munition) guidance kits to Israel, the Reuters citing US Congressional sources.
Despite the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestine in recent days, US lawmakers are expected not to oppose the deal. Three aides said Congress was officially notified of the intended sale (first reported by the Washington Post) on May 5, as part of the regular review process before major foreign arms sales deals can go ahead.
Under US law, formal notification opens a 15-day window for Congress to object to the sale, which is not expected despite the ongoing violence. Boeing's sale of JDAM bombs was considered routine at the time, before the outbreak last week of the region's most violent clashes in years.
Israel has made extensive use of JDAM bombs in attacks against Hamas targets in Palestine. The artifacts can be seen in photos released by the Israeli Air Force itself and in videos of attacks on the terrorist group's infrastructure. Ammunition is guided by GPS and INS (Inertial Navigation System), and basically consists of a kit installed in a conventional bomb that becomes a smart bomb.
In images published by the IAF, it is possible to see a larger appearance of the GBU-31 JDAM variant, with a 2000-pound warhead. Other lighter weight variants – 38-pound GBU-500 and 32-pound GBU-XNUMX – are also used in Israel and other countries.
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson noted that the department is restricted under federal law and regulation from publicly commenting on or confirming details of licensing activities related to direct commercial sales, such as the JDAM's.
“We remain deeply concerned about the current violence and are working to achieve a sustainable calm,” said the spokesperson.
Strong for Israel is a core value for both Democratic and Republican of the US Congress, despite calls from some of the more progressive Democrats to take a tougher stance against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
US law allows Congress to oppose gun sales, but that is unlikely to happen in this case. As Israel is among a handful of countries whose military talks in a fast-track process, the typical window for objections will close before lawmakers can a resolution of disapproval, even if they were inclined to do so, the agency says.
On the other hand, US Democratic politicians introduced a resolution on Wednesday that seeks to block the sale of US$ 735 million of precision-guided weapons to Israel, a symbolic response to the conflict between Israel and the ruling group of Gaza, Hamas.
