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ARCHIVE - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at the end of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters. Photo: Virginia Mayo/AP/dpa
Keystone
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has defended arms deliveries to Israel. "Unfortunately, the country faces adversaries and enemies from all directions," Blinken told the New York Times when asked why the US continued to supply weapons to Israel, even though the Islamist Hamas now posed less of a threat and the population in Gaza had been "completely decimated". The support is essential to ensure that Israel can deter threats and defend itself adequately, which in the end also prevents an even greater conflict with more death and destruction, Blinken argued.
The interview with the minister was conducted on the occasion of the upcoming transition of power in Washington. Independently of this, there were media reports that the outgoing US government is planning to sell weapons to Israel worth eight billion dollars (around 7.8 billion euros). The US State Department has informed Congress about this, as reported by the portal "Axios", among others. Among other things, this is said to involve ammunition for fighter jets and helicopters as well as artillery shells. Neither the State Department nor the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the reports when asked.
04.01.2025, 20:35
