BANDUNG, SEATIZENS – The United States allocated $22.76 billion in the past year to support Israel’s aggression in Gaza and military operations against the Houthi in Yemen. Of this amount, $17.9 billion went to Israel, making it the largest annual U.S. military aid to the country. Officials used the funds for military financing, arms sales, and ammunition transfers. A report from the Watson Institute highlights that U.S. efforts might obscure the full scope of this aid through bureaucratic mechanisms, raising concerns about transparency.
Israel remains the largest recipient of U.S. military aid, with a total of $251 billion since 1959. The $17.9 billion provided since October 2023 marks the highest amount given in a single year. Additionally, the U.S. has spent $4.86 billion on operations in Yemen and other parts of the Middle East, focusing most of this aid on ammunition and heavy weaponry, including artillery shells and large bombs.
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The Watson Institute questions the transparency of U.S. military aid to Israel. Unlike the well-documented support for Ukraine, some aspects of U.S. assistance to Israel remain hidden. The Biden administration may cause this lack of clarity through bureaucratic maneuvers. As a result, debates have arisen about the nature of the aid and its full extent.
(Firyal Trinidad)
