According to a new report published by The Intercept, the White House is requesting the removal of all restrictions on Israel’s access to weapons and ammunition in U.S. weapons stockpiles stored in Israel itself. This is part of a weapons supply cache called the War Reserve Stockpile Allies-Israel, or WRSA-I, which is a system created to hold American weapons in the region in the event of a war there. The cache in Israel is the largest one in existence.
The request was included in the White House’s supplemental budget request, sent to the Senate on Oct. 20—so it is not a recently made request, but one started over a month ago. However it still begs the question: how much de-escalation is being planned after all?
The Intercept writes: “The request pertains to little-known weapons stockpiles in Israel that the Pentagon established for use in regional conflicts, but which Israel has been permitted to access in limited circumstances—the very limits President Joe Biden is seeking to remove.”
