America is Funding the Genocide in Gaza
Written by Samara Attalla and Raneem Hijazi
The US is directly funding the genocide in Gaza by sending monetary aid and missile defenses to the Israeli occupation. The financial transfers come from US taxpayer funds, around $3.3 billion, which the US provides to ‘Israel’ every year. These are provided as grants under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, funds that ‘Israel’ must use to purchase US military equipment and services. Since October 7, the US has approved more than 100 separate military sales to fund the violence carried out by the IOF. However, only two approved foreign military sales to ‘Israel’ have been made public: $106 million worth of tank ammunition and $147.5 million of components needed to make 155 mm shells.
The 100 other smaller transactions, known as Foreign Military Sales (FMS), are weapons transfers that were processed without any public record because each fell under a specific dollar amount. However, only packages of a certain value need congressional oversight, meaning “bundled packages” below that value are being slipped through regularly.
‘Israel’ is also experimenting with new weapons during the ongoing occupation of Gaza. $500 million a year is slated for Israeli and US-Israeli missile defense programs, where the two countries collaborate on the research, development, and production of these systems used by the Israeli occupation, including the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow II. Over the years, the Israeli occupation forces have tested rubber bullets, AI-powered robotic guns, and various forms of crowd dispersal solutions, which have inflicted severe injuries on Palestinians. This exploitation of technology has spurred the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) to advocate for the boycott of Intel, Google, and Elbit Systems, citing their complicity in supporting the settler colony of Israel.
The Biden Administration tries to mitigate its image by providing “air-dropped aid” to starving Palestinians in Gaza, with it dropping 38,000 meals in early March… but even these humiliating packages of dropped aid prove to be dangerous. In aid drops coordinated by Jordan, United Arab Emirates, France, and the United States, Palestinians have been injured with as many as five Palestinians killed due to faulty drops.
While we’re unsure of which country’s airdrops were faulty, experts have emphasized that this is not only dangerous but also highly ineffective. The International Crisis Group’s UN director, Richard Gowan, has said: “Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid.”
Ahmed Mansour in Gaza regards these airdrops as “pointless” because a lot of the aid “ends up in the sea or being controlled by the Israeli army.” Samah Al-Kahlout in south Gaza remarks how “survival is of the fittest” with these airdrops, as people end up having to run after them, and in some cases swim. People often state how useless these bits of aid are. Not only are they unsure of where the aid is landing, having to scramble after them if physically able — they say that because of the lack of order, people end up fighting over the packages. Palestinians insist on forcing ‘Israel’ to open the crossings, saying these humiliating airdrops are not a substitute for actually feeding Palestinians.
Recently, the US drove into Gaza concrete, metal, and other building supplies to build a “floating pier” that many believe to be the groundwork for a naval base. They can bring in building materials but for some reason, they can’t bring food and vital aid?
Not only this, in a recent interview with the Pentagon, the spokesperson said that it wasn’t “handling” aid distribution logistics right now… despite it being the primary purpose of it being built.
These carefully curated press leaks are meant to distract: even as the US drops aid, they are still the number one arms exporter to ‘Israel’, making them fundamentally liable for participating in this genocide. The Settler Colony of the United States pretends to care for Palestinians with the degrading promise of air-dropped aid whilst they arm the aggressor that continues to maim, kill, and destroy their way of life.
Join @uscpr #StopArmingIsrael campaign and divest from companies aiding and abetting genocide #DivestElbeit. Continue to demand a permanent and immediate ceasefire!
Together, we will end the genocide, lift the siege, stop the occupation, dismantle apartheid, and liberate Palestine from Zionist settler colonialism!
Cited Sources:
https://jacobin.com/2024/03/biden-weapons-israel-gaza-palestine
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/06/us-weapons-israel-gaza/
https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts
https://bdsmovement.net/Press-Release-BDS-Launches-Boycott-Intel-Global-Campaign
State Department arms dealer says there is a lack of transparency with arms deal:
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