Palestine Tet – 38 – U.S. opens its weapons storage in Israel – a weapons bazaar for Israel without conditions

1.

With one exception, none of the Colorado Democratic members of Congress or the Senate have been willing to come out publicly – or privately in meetings with constituents – in support of an immediate bilateral ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza Palestinians. Their main pretext – as if reading from the same script, which perhaps they were: Can’t trust Hamas. As if the Netanyahu government can be trusted?

The exception is U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette who, while not calling for a ceasefire yet, seems to be seriously considering it and will make an announcement on the subject one way or another in the next few days.

Over “the next few days” Colorado will become the focus of both national and international attention. President Biden will be visiting Colorado for two fundraisers, one in Pueblo on November 28 and then a second in Denver the next day, November 29. The Denver appearance is a private fundraiser. Biden’s Colorado fundraising activities come just prior to a major national conference of the Jewish National Fund in Denver between November 30 and December 2 in response to which a series of protest activities are planned. (More on this below).

It is said the entrance fee to attend the Denver dinner with Biden is $30,000; to sit at the president’s table, a cool $50,000. Even if one wanted to dish out that kind of $ to be in the presence of a man who seems to be sleepwalking through his presidency, only the “chosen ones”, those vetted by the President’s staff will be able shake his blood-stained hands or kiss his Gaza-blood-soaked feet.

Biden comes to Colorado with his standing in the polls plummeting, especially over his administration’s decision to give Israel a greenlight to its carnage in Gaza. The devastation the Administration has supported in Gaza is without precedent in recent memory. A “whopping’ 70% of Democratic voters between ages 18-34 “disapprove” – a polite way to say they are horrified – with Biden’s handling of the war. Biden’s poll numbers are dropping so low that he has dropped below Donald Trump’s currently.

2.

At a face-to-face meeting  where representatives of Colorado’s Palestinian Community along with a few (Palestinian) supporters (including yours truly representing Front Range Jewish Voice for Peace) participated, Congresswoman DeGette seemed to listen carefully to arguments presented in support of an immediate ceasefire.

The exchanges with DeGette were substantial, concrete and respectful. She has committed to releasing a statement giving her views on the (not-so) great “humanitarian pause”/ceasefire debate of the moment, timing her statement release to coincide with both President Biden’s Colorado visit and the Jewish National Fund meeting here in Denver.

In the face-to-face with Congresswoman DeGette, former Israeli Defense Force officer Micha Ben David, a founder of Breaking The Silence, argued convincingly that replenishing Israeli arms stores contradicted Biden Administration said aims of de-escalating the violence, that arming Israel to the teeth – without conditions – limited the possibility of a humanitarian pause leading to a ceasefire.

It was also noted by another participant that the fact that the Washington has released a considerable amount of weaponry stored in U.S. facilities in Israel itself will only encourage Israel that much more to pursue is pulverization of Gaza, one that Martin Griffith, the United Nations top aid official described as having produced “complete and utter carnage.”

3.

An article by Ken Klippenstein, published in the Intercept, the research arm of the Nation magazine, details just how generous Washington has been in replenishing Israeli military equipment:

THE WHITE HOUSE has requested the removal of restrictions on all categories of weapons and ammunition Israel is allowed to access from U.S. weapons stockpiles stored in Israel itself.

The move to lift restrictions was included in the White House’s supplemental budget request, sent to the Senate on October 20. “This request would,” the proposed budget says, “allow for the transfer of all categories of defense articles.”

The request pertains to little-known weapons stockpiles in Israel that the Pentagon established for use in regional conflicts, but which Israel has been permitted to access in limited circumstances — the very limits President Joe Biden is seeking to remove.

The article continues to note that in contrast to arms deliveries to Ukraine, the content of which has been made public (for the most part) since Russia’s special military operation began in late September of 2022, the current arms transfers to Israel remain largely secret in nature. Bloomsberg appears to have obtained a list of weapons released. The list includes shells for Apache gunships, bunker-buster munitions, more being delivered on a nearly daily basis.

4.

While international pressures on the Biden Administration to support a ceasefire build by the hour, to date such calls are falling on deaf neo-con ears. While talking “pause”, possible “ceasefire” Washington continues to fan the flames of war, and yet more carnage in Gaza.

U.S. weapons transfers to Israel only heighten U.S. complicity in Tel Aviv’s campaign of carnage against the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza. Besides providing Israel with weaponry and diplomatic cover, the US has given Israel the GPS coordinates of medical facilities and humanitarian groups that Israeli forces have bombed. The US claims that this location data was shared to help Israel avoid hitting these sites; instead, it appears that Israel has seen them as targets.

Needless to say all this is the opposite of working for a ceasefire and redirecting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from “escalating for more war” to “escalating for peace.” The Biden Administration is still betting that Israel can in fact eliminate Hamas – a fanciful notion at best – and is providing Tel Aviv with the military means of doing so.

Meanwhile the calls for a ceasefire continue to grow louder and louder, both domestically and around the world. If Diana DeGette joins in the chorus for peace, it could be a defining moment in her years as Denver’s representative in Congress.

I guess we’ll find out soon enough