Israeli Defense Minister to come to US with weapons wishlist

Next week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is set arrive in the United States on Sunday reportedly with a wishlist of US-made weapons needed to perpetuate the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Gallant, who in the days after October 7 ordered a complete siege on Gaza, calling Palestinians “human animals,” will be meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, as well as White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other US officials. Israel seeks short term weapons for its current aggression on the Gaza Strip, but also more long term weaponry, such as F-35 and F-15 fighter jets. 

Since October 7, the Israeli military has become even more dependent on US-made weapons in a so-called war that has massacred over 32,000 people, 13,000 of them children. The United States has always been Israel’s biggest defender and funder, with current US President Joe Biden saying several times that “if there were not an Israel, we’d have to invent one.” The United States averages USD 4 billion sent to Israel in aid each year. Biden himself has bypassed Congress many times to send weapons to Israel as it carries out genocide in Gaza. 

Millions across the United States and the global north have been pushing for an arms embargo against Israel. In Canada, the Palestine solidarity movement has successfully pressured their very pro-Israel government to agree to halt weapons sales to the Zionist state. In the United States, where mass movements have been making identical demands of their governments, politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also called for a stoppage to weapons sales to Israel. According to reports, Israeli officials have concerns about the pace of US weapons shipments to Israel given the increased scrutiny that Biden faces over the genocide.