Biden admin uses emergency authority to approve tank shells sale to Israel

The Biden administration has authorized the sale of almost 14,000 tank shells to Israel, bypassing congressional rules, the Pentagon announced Saturday.

The Department of Defense used an emergency declaration from the Arms Export Control Act to sell 13,981 tank cartridges, worth $106.5 million, immediately to Israel as the country continues its ongoing war against the militant group Hamas.

The Arms Export Control Act “authorizes the President to control the import and export of defense articles and services,” according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.

“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” reads a release from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

It continued, “The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives.”

This sale is part of a larger package, first reported by Reuters Friday, that President Biden has asked Congress to approve. The overall deal includes 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, which have been consistently deployed by Israel during its fight in Gaza.

The sale of the tank shells comes after the United States used its veto power to block a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The ceasefire would have required Israel to halt its war with Hamas on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the U.S. for vetoing the resolution, calling the war justified in a video statement Saturday.

More than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

This story was updated at 8:22pm.