Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday signed an emergency declaration to speed the delivery of about $4 billion worth of military assistance to Israel, reversing the Biden administration’s partial arms embargo.
The Trump administration has approved nearly $12 billion in military sales to Israel. Mr. Rubio said the decision coincides with President Trump’s repeal of a Biden-era memorandum that had imposed “baseless and politicized” conditions on military assistance while Israel was fighting a war of survival on several fronts against Iran and its proxies.
“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,” Mr. Rubio said.
The State Department said Friday that it was selling more than 35,500 MK-84 or BLU-117 bombs to Israel, along with 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads and spare parts and accessories. The munitions are expected to be delivered to Israel next year.
The State Department also signed off on a deal to ship about 6,000 bombs and 1,500 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits to Israel in 2028. Officials said the U.S. will also sell Israel about $300 million of bulldozers and related equipment in 2027.
“The Secretary of State has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the defense articles and defense services in the national security interests of the United States,” the State Department said in a statement.
The emergency declaration goes around a longtime practice of allowing the senior Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate foreign affairs committees the opportunity to review the sale before making the formal notification to Congress.
Jerusalem is now in a fragile ceasefire with the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched a terror attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Militants from the Gaza Strip killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 others hostage.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.