US military spending bill tasks Washington to shield Israel from arms embargo
The United States’ annual military spending bill obliges Washington to mitigate the effects of international arms restrictions imposed on Israel over the regime’s brutal crimes against Palestinians.
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026 that authorizes $900 billion in military programs.
The 3,000-page bill contains an extraordinary provision that requires the US to systematically identify, assess and compensate for any Israeli weapons shortfalls caused by sanctions slapped on the occupying regime over its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and atrocities in the occupied West Bank.
It says the US war secretary should conduct a continual assessment of current and emerging embargoes on arms transfers to Israel and examine how such limitations weaken the Israeli military.
It also compels Washington to identify specific weapons systems or technologies that Israel can no longer acquire or modernize due to sanctions and then to devise practical ways of filling in the gap.
The NDAA Section 1706 “functions as a form of political and logistical insurance, effectively insulating Israel from global accountability,” Middle East Monitor reported.
“In effect, if Israel is prohibited from acquiring a weapons system from another supplier, the United States will manufacture a replacement, expedite sales or adapt its military-industrial output to meet Israeli needs.”
The House Armed Services Committee, which examines the NDAA before it moves to a vote in the House of Representatives, said the annual military bill has "unprecedented levels of support for the security of Israel".
The bill includes $80 million for a joint American and Israeli anti-tunneling project and another $70 million to help Israel counter drone attacks and other aerial "emerging threats". It further allocates $35 million for the US to establish a new cooperative program with Israel and G7 allies and test cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum, cyber security, robotics, and automation.
Israel typically receives around $3.3 billion in annual US military aid, but in 2024 the figure more than doubled to $6.8 billion.
The criminal Israeli regime has used the American-supplied weapons to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide against Palestinians.
Human rights groups say the US government is complicit in Israel’s grave violations and has the blood of Palestinians on its hands.
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