The Outlaw US Empire keeps arming Israel and restarts arming Saudi Arabia
...while saying that it wants to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
After reading the title, you will probably say “Nothing new”, except for rearming of Saudi Arabia. True, but the hypocrisy of the Outlaw US Empire keeps reaching higher and higher summits, and it must be highlighted and shared as much as possible to open the eyes of the people who are blissfully ignorant of what is going on around the world and, in particular, in the Middle East, where Israel is committing a heinous genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, under protection of the Outlaw US Empire and its NATO vassals. That is why I keep posting even at peak of summer holiday season, taking advantage of my free time.
In my previous article on the Middle East crisis I mentioned a joint statement issued by France, Germany and United Kingdom (UK), saying that they “are working with all parties to prevent escalation” (in the Middle East), and I highlighted the hypocrisy of these countries and particularly the UK, as its air force bombed Kamaran Island (Yemen) while issuing this statement.
The Outlaw US Empire and Italy were not signatories of that joint statement, but they issued another one later on the same day, together with the other three countries, as you can see from the picture below, again stating their “full support for ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions”, yet doing the exact opposite of what they are saying. In fact, last night Al Mayadeen reported that the Outlaw US Empire “approved the sale of military equipment to ‘Israel’, totalling over $20 billion”.
The approved sales to Israel include:
F-15IA and F-15I+ aircraft worth $18.82 billion;
120 mm tank ammunition totalling $774.1 million;
modified M1148A1P2 medium tactical vehicles for $583.1 million;
Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) totalling approximately $102.5 million.
All vehicles, weapons and ammunitions that Israel will use to level out what is left of Gaza and to kill more and more thousands of Palestinians, though F-15 fighter jets are expected to be delivered in 2029, as they take years to produce, whereas the other equipment would begin to be delivered in 2026, as per The Guardian.
It is also worth noting that both statements urge Iran not to follow up its threats to attack Israel, as if Iran had no reason to do that, while we know very well that Iran is threatening Israel only because the latter killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran ~2 weeks ago (read my article here) and, according to international law (Article 51 of the UN charter), it has the right to respond, since the UNSC failed to address the issue.
By the way, as reported yesterday (13th August 2024) by Reuters, three senior Iranian officials said that “[o]nly a ceasefire deal in Gaza stemming from hoped-for talks this week would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil”.
However, this morning Al Mayadeen reported the following in its Short News (all emphasis mine):
Hamas will not participate in the Doha meetings Thursday [15th August 2024]: Senior Resistance official to Al Mayadeen.
Hamas refuses the start of negotiations if they are not based on the last [ceasefire] paper presented on July 2: Senior Resistance official to Al Mayadeen.
Hamas confirms that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu set new conditions that undermine the course of the negotiations: Senior Resistance official to Al Mayadeen.
Similarly, this morning The Guardian reported here that “Hamas official Ahmad Abdul Hadi has said the group will not participate in the talks, according to reports by Sky News [here] and the New York Times [here]” and it confirmed the news in the afternoon here quoting senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri as saying:
Hamas is committed to the proposal presented to it on 2 July, which is based on the UN security council resolution and the Biden speech and the movement is prepared to immediately begin discussion over a mechanism to implement it.
Hence, I do not see any ceasefire deal on the horizon and we may expect an attack by the Axis of Resistance against Israel in the coming days, though Reuters reported that its “sources did not say how long Iran would allow for talks to progress before responding”. We will see…
As if the US arms sale to Israel was not enough, after lifting its ban on offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia a few days ago (source: Reuters), the Outlaw US Empire is now restarting shipments of weapons and ammunitions to the Saudis, as reported by Al Mayadeen, citing a paywalled Wall Street Journal article. In particular, the deal, totalling approximately $750 million, includes:
3,000 GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (worth $290 million), which enable accurate strikes from a distance, and
7,500 Paveway IV bombs (worth $468 million), which utilize advanced targeting systems.
The shipments “were previously halted by President Biden in 2021 due to alleged concerns over high levels of civilian casualties resulting from Saudi-led operations in Yemen”. Apparently the decision is “seen as a reward for Saudi Arabia's cooperation on regional security issues, including its openness to discussions on long-term normalization with ‘Israel’”. Oh, well… I am not sure what’s been happening behind the scenes, but it surely does not help de-escalate tensions, as the Outlaw US Empire and its vassals say in their joint statements. I am afraid that the Outlaw US Empire may have somehow convinced the Saudis to restart bombing Yemen, in order to avoid getting entangled in a long war against the Houthis, since Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea is failing miserably. I hope I am wrong.
Finally, it is also worth reporting that yesterday the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Resistance movement, launched two M90 rockets from Khan Younis against Tel Aviv, where they landed without being intercepted and without air alarm, as reported in this Al Mayadeen article, where further achievements by Palestinian Resistance factions are listed. This shows how little Israel has achieved against Hamas and the other Palestinian Resistance factions in ~10 months of war in the Gaza Strip.
What a mess, I thought the genocide brought Sunnis and Shiites together. If that’s the case, then the outlaw empire’s meddling doesn’t approve of such alliance. The grip the Zionists have on the outlaw empire is boundless.