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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 state department said on Friday that the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5m sale for equipment, including fuses, chargers and primers, that is needed to make the 155mm 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 US national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces,” it said.
The emergency determination means the purchase will bypass the congressional review requirement for foreign military sales. Such determinations are rare, but not unprecedented when administrations see an urgent need for weapons to be delivered without waiting for lawmakers’ approval.
Blinken made a similar decision on 9 December, to approve the sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106m.
Both moves have come as Joe Biden’s request for a nearly $106bn aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs remains stalled in Congress, caught up in a debate over US immigration policy and border security. Some Democratic lawmakers have spoken of making the proposed $14.3bn in American assistance to its Middle East ally contingent on concrete steps by the government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza during the war with Hamas.
The State Department sought to counter potential criticism of the sale on human rights grounds by saying it was in constant touch with Israel to emphasize the importance of minimizing civilian casualties, which have soared since Israel began its response to the Hamas attacks in Israel on 7 October.
“We continue to strongly emphasize to the government of Israel that they must not only comply with international humanitarian law but also take every feasible step to prevent harm to civilians,” it said.
“Hamas hides behind civilians and has embedded itself among the civilian population, but that does not lessen Israel’s responsibility and strategic imperative to distinguish between civilians and Hamas terrorists as it conducts its military operations,” the department said. “This type of campaign can only be won by protecting civilians.”
Bypassing Congress with emergency determinations for arms sales is an unusual step that has in the past met resistance from lawmakers, who normally have a period to weigh in on proposed weapons transfers and, in some cases, block them.
In May 2019, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an emergency determination for an $8.1bn sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan after it became clear that the Trump administration would have trouble overcoming lawmakers’ concerns about the Saudi and UAE-led war in Yemen.
Pompeo came under heavy criticism for the move, which some believed may have violated the law because many of the weapons involved had yet to be built and could not be delivered urgently. But he was cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation.
At least four administrations have used the authority since 1979. President George HW Bush’s administration used it during the Gulf War to get arms quickly to Saudi Arabia.
Source: The Guardian
拜登政府第二次繞過美國國會向以色列出售武器
隨著以色列在國際社會越來越多的批評下繼續在加薩對哈馬斯發動戰爭，拜登政府本月第二次繞過國會批准向以色列出售緊急武器。
美國國務院週五表示，國務卿安東尼·布林肯已告訴國會，他已做出第二項緊急決定，涉及出售1.475 億美元的設備，包括保險絲、充電器和底火，這些設備是製造155 毫米砲彈所需的。以色列已經購買了功能。
該部門表示： “鑑於以色列防禦需求的緊迫性，國務卿通知國會，他已行使其授權，確定存在緊急情況，需要立即批准轉移。”
聲明中寫道： “美國致力於以色列的安全，確保以色列能夠防禦其面臨的威脅，這對美國的國家利益至關重要。”
這項緊急決定意味著這項採購將繞過國會對外軍售的審查要求。 當政府認為迫切需要在不等待立法者批准的情況下交付武器時，這種決定很少見，但並非史無前例。
布林肯於 12 月 9 日做出了類似決定，批准向以色列出售近 14,000 發坦克彈藥，價值超過 1.06 億美元。
這兩項舉措是在喬·拜登提出的為烏克蘭、以色列和其他國家安全需求提供近1060 億美元援助計劃的請求在國會陷入停滯之際，該計劃陷入了有關美國移民政策和邊境安全的辯論。 一些民主黨議員表示，美國向其中東盟友提供的143 億美元援助計劃取決於以色列總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡(Benjamin Netanyahu) 政府採取的具體措施，以減少與哈馬斯戰爭期間加沙的平民傷亡。
美國國務院試圖反駁可能以人權為由對此次出售提出的批評，稱其一直與以色列保持聯繫，強調盡量減少平民傷亡的重要性。自以色列10 月7 日開始回應哈馬斯在以色列的襲擊以來，平民傷亡人數急劇上升。。
聲明中寫道： “我們繼續向以色列政府強烈強調，他們不僅必須遵守國際人道法，而且還必須採取一切可行步驟，防止對平民造成傷害。”
該部門表示： “哈馬斯隱藏在平民背後，並融入平民之中，但這並沒有減輕以色列在開展軍事行動時區分平民和哈馬斯恐怖分子的責任和戰略必要性。” “只有保護平民才能贏得此類戰役的勝利。”
繞過國會緊急決定軍售是一個不同尋常的舉措，過去曾遭到立法者的抵制，立法者通常有一段時間來權衡擬議的武器轉讓，並在某些情況下阻止它們。
2019 年5 月，時任國務卿彭佩奧(Mike Pompeo) 緊急決定向沙烏地阿拉伯、阿拉伯聯合大公國和約旦出售價值81 億美元的武器，因為川普政府顯然難以克服立法者對沙烏地阿拉伯和約旦的擔憂。阿聯酋領導的也門戰爭。
蓬佩奧此舉遭到嚴厲批評，有些人認為此舉可能違反了法律，因為涉及的許多武器尚未製造，無法緊急交付。 但經過內部調查後，他被證明沒有任何不當行為。
自 1979 年以來，至少有四屆政府使用過這項權力。喬治·H·W·布希總統的政府在海灣戰爭期間利用這項權力迅速將武器運送到沙烏地阿拉伯。
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