Follow us on social

Israel to receive $1 billion in bombs and bulldozers from Trump

Israel to receive $1 billion in bombs and bulldozers from Trump

Tel Aviv is clearly exempt from the president's blitz on foreign aid

Reporting | QiOSK

President Trump paused most foreign aid programs in January but is now asking Congress to approve $1 billion worth of bombs and demolition equipment to Israel.

The administration has been adding exceptions to its foreign aid pause since announcing it, but it seems Israel’s aid was never in jeopardy, according to diplomatic cables.

The American taxpayer will pay for the $1 billion sale of the weapons as part of the $3.8. billion military aid package sent to Israel each year. In total, from Oct. 2023 to Oct. 2024, Israel received a record-breaking $17.9 billion worth of weapons, and President Biden announced plans to send an $8 billion arms package to the nation in January, but it has not yet been fully approved by Congress.

This new arms package comes as President Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. Trump also lifted the pause on the sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in late January.

The weapons and equipment included in the most recent sale include 1,000-pound “general purpose” bombs and Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers, which have historically been used to raze houses and other buildings in the West Bank as collective punishment, including as part of an ongoing operation in Jenin.

Trump’s decision to continue large-scale arms sales to Israel is shadowed by a fragile cease-fire in Gaza, and by reports that raised the death count in Gaza to at least 62,000.


Top Photo: A Palestinian man looks at an Israeli military vehicle during an Israeli raid in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 31, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
A Palestinian man looks at an Israeli military vehicle during an Israeli raid in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 31, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
Reporting | QiOSK
Nixon_and_zhou_toast-scaled
Top Image Credit: US President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai toast, February 25, 1972.

Why Trump probably can’t pull off a ‘reverse Nixon’

Europe

President Donald Trump’s unorthodox diplomacy has alarm bells ringing around the world, not least in Washington, D.C. While much of the inside-the-beltway elite is horrified at the prospect of America supposedly reorienting toward Russia, administration insiders have hinted at an ambitious plan to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing.

They’ve raised the possibility of a so-called “Reverse Nixon” maneuver aimed at fostering a global balance of power more favorable to America. But can it work?

keep readingShow less
Lobby Horse
Top image credit: Khody Akhavi

Foreign agent disclosures already down more than 30%

QiOSK

Enjoy our new column by the Democratizing Foreign Policy team exposing stealth corruption infecting our system — in plain sight.

Disclosure under the nation’s preeminent law for regulating foreign influence in America is plummeting.

keep readingShow less
Netanyahu Trump White House
Top photo credit: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt

Trump drops news bomblet: Direct US-Iran talks this Saturday

Middle East

During Monday’s last-minute meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump announced that the U.S. will meet directly with Iran on April 12 to talk about a potential agreement over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Prior to this statement, Iran had declared that it was willing to engage in indirect talks with the U.S. about the possibility of renegotiating a nuclear deal. When reporters asked for more information on this previously undisclosed plans for a direct meeting, which Tehran had not yet confirmed, Trump merely reiterated that the talks would be at “almost the highest level” and “on Saturday.” Later reports indicated that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff would be representing Washington in those talks.

keep readingShow less

Trump transition

Latest

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.