https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/08/politics/state-department-congress-tank-munit... State Department bypasses Congress
to send thousands of munitions to Israel
Natasha Bertrand
By Natasha Bertrand, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 2:00 PM EST, Sat December 9, 2023
The US State Department transmitted an emergency declaration to lawmakers late Friday night for the sale of thousands of munitions to Israel, the agency announced, bypassing the standard 20-day period that congressional committees are typically afforded to review such a sale.
The declaration followed a request by the State Department earlier in the week for Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells to Israel for its Merkava tanks. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN that the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which have oversight over military sales, had been under “pressure” from the State Department to approve the request quickly amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The committees typically have 20 days to review foreign military sales, allowing lawmakers to raise questions about a transaction and delay it if needed. But late Friday night, the State Department transmitted an emergency declaration to the committees for
over 13,000 of the tank shells, worth about $106 million,
for immediate delivery to Israel, the source said Saturday.
Reuters first reported the initial administration request for 45,000 shells.
In early November, the State Department formally notified congressional leaders that it would transfer $320 million worth of precision-guided bomb equipment to Israel, CNN previously reported.
Israel has received 200 cargo planes of military equipment from “several countries” since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, including ammunition, armored vehicles and weapons, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
The Israeli ministry said more than
10,000 tons of military equipment have been delivered since the start of the war.