 "Marco Rubio arrives in Jerusalem for meeting with Netanyahu as he commences his first Middle East tour")
New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Jerusalem to hold a meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Jewish nation received shipments of heavy American bombs. Rubio’s meeting with the Israeli premier is part of his first tour to the Middle East.
During his visit to the region, Rubio is expected to push US President Donald Trump’s widely controversial proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate the 2 million Palestinians living in the coastal enclave. However, the Florida Senator has himself suggested that Trump’s idea is mainly a negotiating tactic meant to provoke Arab leaders into taking more responsibility for the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Arab officials have already denounced Trump’s proposal. While Rubio attempted to downplay the situation since then, Trump has doubled down, telling reporters in the Oval Office and in a Fox News interview, that he intends to move ahead with the plan. Trump’s plan received major backlash from Mahmoud Abbas, who governs the West Bank as the president of the Palestinian Authority.
US shipments of heavy bombs arrive in Israel
Ahead of Rubio’s visit to Israel, a shipment of 1,800 heavy bombs from the United States that had been held up by former US President Joe Biden’s administration, arrived in Israel overnight. The Defence Ministry on Sunday confirmed the arrival of the shipments. The American vessel carrying MK-84 2,000-lb munitions was seen docked at the Ashdod Port, The Times of Israel reported.
The ministry stated that the ammunition was unloaded onto dozens of trucks and was taken to the Israeli airbase. Defense Minister Israel Katz lauded the Trump administration for their support and hailed the arrival of the bombs. “The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States," he said in a statement.
“I thank President Donald Trump and the US administration for their unwavering support of the State of Israel. We will continue working together to strengthen our security,” the Israeli minister furthered. It is pertinent to note that the United States has been pushing billions of dollars in military aid to Israel throughout the past 16 months of the war in Gaza.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHowever, the Biden administration acknowledged that it stopped fast-tracking weapons to Israel later in the war, and instead required each transfer to go through the usual approval process, as in the case of other nations. In May last year, Biden’s White House announced that it would withhold a shipment of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs.
The then-US president went on to threaten to freeze the delivery of additional weapons if Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians were sheltering at the time. However, in July, the Biden government released 500-lb bombs after the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) entered Rafah.
With inputs from the agencies.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
