Most of them are “stupid” bombs They tell the story of the secret American weapons stockpile in Israel

Not only has the United States moved its largest naval fleet and sent more than 230 cargo planes and 20 ships loaded with weapons to Israel since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, it is now wide-opening the doors of its secret weapons stores in Israel for the use of the occupation army.

The US stockpile of weapons hidden in Israel - known as the War Reserve Stockpile for Israel's Allies (WRSA-I) - is back in the spotlight, as former US officials believe the White House has used it to resupply the Israeli army with fast-explosive munitions it drops. On civilian homes and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, according to The Guardian .

Not only did the United States move its largest naval fleets and send its best military experts to assist the occupation army in its aggression against Gaza, but it also sent more than 230 cargo planes and 20 ships loaded with weapons to Israel since the start of the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for nearly three months. And now it is opening the doors of its secret weapons stores in Israel wide for the use of the occupation army.

A former senior Pentagon official told the British newspaper: “Officially, this is American equipment for American use. But on the other hand, who says we will not give them the keys to the warehouses (to Israel) in case of emergency?” Another senior US official familiar with the WRSA-I project added, “When it comes to air-to-ground munitions, we will provide Israel with everything it needs.”

The origin of the story

Its exact location is secret, but somewhere in Israel there are several heavily guarded warehouses containing billions of dollars worth of weapons owned by the US government.

The stockpile was first established in the 1980s to quickly supply US forces for any future conflicts in the Middle East. However, over time, Israel was allowed in some cases to take advantage of its extensive supplies.

According to The Guardian, it appears that Israel is now receiving ammunition from its stock in large quantities for use in its war on Gaza, but there is little transparency regarding transfers from the arsenal.

It should be noted that , in early 2023, the New York Times reported statements by American and Israeli officials that the Pentagon was exploiting a large and unknown stockpile of American ammunition in Israel to help meet Ukraine’s urgent need for artillery shells in the war with Russia.

Most of them are "stupid" bombs.

Since the start of the offensive on October 7, Israel has dropped tens of thousands of bombs on Gaza and has been vocal about its demands for large amounts of munitions supplied by the United States. The indiscriminate bombing caused the death of more than 21,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, which made the United States face questions about the quantities and categories of bombs it provides to Israel and the percentage that is provided through the secret stockpile prepared in advance.

In Washington, lawmakers raised concerns about White House proposals that would relax rules on the types of weapons placed in the stockpile, waive spending limits on refurbishing them and give the Pentagon greater flexibility to make arsenal transfers.

The full contents of the pre-positioned stockpile have not been publicly disclosed, although former officials say the Pentagon provides Congress with an annual analysis of what it holds. The report may be classified, but earlier this year an unusually frank description of the stockpile's contents emerged when a former US military commander mentioned it in an op-ed touring a secret warehouse located in Israel.

“The current stockpile is full of so-called dumb munitions (those without sophisticated guidance systems),” the military commander said, including “thousands of ‘iron bombs’ that are simply dropped from aircraft so that gravity can do its work.”

Israel did not deny its use of unguided munitions, which can pose significant risks to civilians when used in densely populated areas. Its air force repeatedly shared photos on social media of the beginning of the attack with stupid bombs, such as M117 shells, attached to its fighter planes.

According to US intelligence assessments reported by CNN , between 40% and 45% of the munitions used by Israel to bomb Gaza were “dumb, unguided” bombs and missiles.

Stores to circumvent Congress

The warehouses, long shrouded in secrecy, are part of a widespread but previously little-known stockpile that now faces scrutiny as pressure mounts on the Biden administration over its support for Israel's bombing of Gaza.

While Josh Paul, who recently resigned from the State Department in protest against Washington's continued lethal aid to Israel, said that the proposed changes to the stockpile were part of the Biden administration's campaign to find new ways to supply weapons to Israel.

In interviews with the British newspaper, several former American officials familiar with US security assistance to Israel described how the stockpile allows rapid weapons transfers to the Israeli occupation army. They added that it could also protect US arms movements from public and congressional oversight.

It is noteworthy that the administration of US President Joe Biden has approved a deal to sell weapons to Israel that includes 155 mm M107 shells and related equipment worth $147.5 million, using “emergency authority” to bypass Congress for the second time within a month.

On December 9, for similar reasons, Blinken agreed to sell about 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition, worth more than $106 million, to Israel, without presenting them to Congress.

In a related context, experts believe that the haste and ambiguity that characterized arms transfers to Israel make it more difficult to determine the amount of weapons that Israel took from the US war reserve stock, and the extent of compliance with the legal mechanisms in these procedures, as well as the extent to which Congress is aware of the amount of aid it has provided. The United States to Israel from this stock.

For his part, former US State Department legal advisor Brian Finucane said : “Israel enjoys many existing exceptions to procedural safeguards in its defense partnership with the United States, and “any additional shortcut in fueling conflict in the Middle East should be cause for concern.” .

Finucane wondered, denouncing: “Do these arms transfers make sense from a strategic standpoint? Does adding more gasoline to the fire make sense for American national interests or to achieve peace and stability in the region?”

A sweeping rise How did the war in Gaza and Ukraine strengthen the power of the German extreme right?

Germany is witnessing a sweeping rise of the extreme right, as it has become the second political force in the country in terms of popularity, according to what opinion polls reveal, while analysts believe that the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza after it contributed to providing a suitable climate for the rise of this right.

The popularity of the right is witnessing a significant rise in Germany, and recent opinion polls indicate that it has become the second political force in the country. This is in addition to the growing threat of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim fascist groups, which threaten to commit hate crimes against these minorities in the country.

Analysts believe that the war in Ukraine and the difficult economic conditions that led to it in Germany, such as the war in Gaza and the wave of incitement against Arabs and Muslims who support Palestine, are all factors that contributed to the rise of the German far right.

A huge rise in popularity

According to Reuters , the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany party has reached its highest level ever. The agency quoted German opinion polls as saying that the party's popularity had reached the threshold of 23%, coming second behind the opposition conservative bloc, whose popularity recorded 31%.

This came at a time when the popularity of the ruling coalition declined, as the Socialist Party scored 14%, while the Greens got 13%, and the Liberal Democrats got 5%.

The agency attributed the rise of the “Alternative for Germany” to the blockage witnessed in deliberations on the 2024 budget. On December 13, the German government reached a way out of this blockage and passed the austerity budget project, within the framework of its plan to revive the economy after the contraction it experienced. Throughout 2023.

On December 18, the Alternative for Germany party achieved a historic political breakthrough, as it was able for the first time in its history to win a mayoral position in the city of Berna in the state of Saxony. According to the BBC, this victory is seen as an indicator ahead of the local and regional parliamentary elections next year.

The British Guardian wrote that the German far right is conducting strategic seizures of rural lands across the country, with the coordinated goal of creating communities independent of the state, according to what was revealed by the domestic intelligence agency and government agencies.

According to a written inquiry submitted by MP Martina Renner, from the leftist opposition Die Link party, to the Minister of the Interior, she said that far-right organizations had purchased about 40 properties throughout the country during the past two years. These properties are part of a strategy taken by these groups in order to strengthen their presence on the ground.

Reinforced by the war in Ukraine and Gaza?

The German economy is still experiencing a severe recession, and in a study prepared by the Institute for Economics and Economic Research (IMK) of the trade unions last September, it was expected that the rate of economic recession in Germany between that month and November may reach approximately 74%. .

Before that, German government reports had previously predicted that there would be no permanent recovery for the country's economy throughout 2023, as it would complete it without achieving any growth.

This contraction that the German economy is suffering from is due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, especially the rise in energy prices, which caused a widespread wave of inflation in the country, affecting the purchasing power of its citizens.

This turbulent economic climate creates a suitable environment for the growth of the popularity of the German far right, and at the head of its organizations is the Alternative for Germany party, whose voters considered that the success it achieved was due to “its provision of solutions to problems such as immigration, inflation, and the war in Ukraine,” in exchange for the failure of the ruling and opposition parties. Moderation in that.

On the other hand, the outbreak of war in Gaza played into the interest of the German extreme right, as it provided it with a pretext to assert its hostility to the Arab communities and Muslims, taking advantage of Germany’s official and popular support for Israel, which has roots in the country’s anti-Semitic past.

Thus, the German far-right intensified the use of accusations of “anti-Semitism” against Muslims in its speeches, and even political figures who were affiliated with the left and center helped it in spreading these allegations, such as the mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, who previously repeated this accusation against the Muslim communities in statements to TRT Arabic, Without providing any reliable source to confirm it.

Speaking to TRT news, Moatasem Al-Rifai, a member of the Immigration and Integration Council in the city of Nuremberg and a human rights activist, explained that “there is currently a problem in Germany, which is that racism and hostility to Arabs and Muslims are being justified by fighting anti-Semitism, which is what extremist right-wing groups are trying to do.” Germany exploited it, taking advantage of the general anti-Arab and anti-Muslim atmosphere caused by the war in Gaza.”

Moin Dhahab, a German activist and member of the Jewish anti-fascist organization Jewish Bund, also confirmed this reality in statements to TRT news, saying that linking anti-Semitism to Muslims “is a deliberate strategy to justify the escalating racial discrimination against Muslims, Arabs and all people who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.”