US allegedly planning $1B arms sale to Israel

United States Donald Trump’s administration asked Congress to approve an arms sale valued at around $1 billion for Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing US officials familiar with the matter. According to the report, the transfer will include 4,700 1,000-pound bombs, valued at more than $700 million, and Caterpillar Inc.’s armored bulldozers, worth over $300 million. The funds for the arms sale would reportedly come from the billions of dollars in annual military aid provided by the US to Israel. The report of the military hardware transfer comes amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Trump in Washington, which is set for tomorrow. According to the report, Netanyahu and other Israeli officials are planning to urge Trump to initiate a separate set of arms transfers, which were previously requested by the Biden administration and which were valued at over $8 billion.