Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) is calling out House Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who urged the Biden administration to “reconsider” the authorization of an arms package transfer to Israel that reportedly includes F-35 fighter jets, after F-35s reportedly helped deter Iran and its proxies’ aerial attacks on Israel Sunday.
Mast’s criticism of 40 House Democrats’ April 5 letter came in a statement to the Daily Caller, as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported an approximately 99 percent intercept rate on the attacks.
300+ launches.
99% interception rate.
This is the breakdown of Iran's attack last night: pic.twitter.com/aRPvxSutW2— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 14, 2024
“Just last week, Pelosi and the Squad demanded Joe Biden stop transferring ‘offensive weapons’ to Israel,” Mast told the outlet. “This was akin to them calling for the U.S. to abandon Israel in the middle of a war.”
“Can you imagine how much more devastating Iran’s attack would have been if Israel didn’t have American-made fighter jets to shoot down some of these missiles?” Mast added.
Per CNN, F-35s and F-15s were used in defending Israel against the attacks on Sunday, where UAVs, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles were launched at Israel.
“Photos released by the Israeli Air Force early Sunday showed F-35 and F-15 fighter jets returning to their bases in Israel after what were called successful ‘interceptions’ and ‘aerial defense missions,’ CNN reported.
In the April 5 letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Pelosi and 39 other Democrats implored them to reconsider an authorized arms package after seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were, as Israel has said, “unintentionally” killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
“In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed,” the Democrats wrote.
“Given the horrifying facts on the ground, we are also greatly concerned by your recent decision to authorize an arms transfer to Israel, which reportedly includes 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs, and 25 F-35A fighter jets,” the letter added.
The arms in this package, which the Washington Post reported was approved in March, would not arrive in Israel for months, per the Caller.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.