The latest US decision to approve the sale of $20 billion worth of arms to Israel, announced by the State Department on Tuesday, shows the United States is continuing to fuel the conflict in the Middle East, which badly needs signals of de-escalation of the hostilities and efforts to build peace and stability.

The new arms sales will include scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, which, according to a State Department release, underscores the US’ commitment to the security of Israel and shores up the US’ national interests in assisting Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.

This is bunkum given Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people.

The US move is tantamount to pouring oil on the flames of Israel’s furious assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the spillover effect of that bellicosity is dragging more parties into the vortex of violence. The US’ partiality and the staunch support it has given Israel, which have facilitated the latter turning Gaza into a living hell for millions of Palestinians, is callous to the extreme.

It is crystal clear that Washington is more interested in pursuing its own agenda in the Middle East via its proxy than it is in dousing the flames of animosities and working to promote peace and stability in the region. The betrayal of the right of people in the region to live in peace and their right to development at a time when the region had hopes of finally escaping the quagmire of long-festering enmities will only deepen the US’ political and moral debt to the people in the Middle East.

As the staggering civilian death toll in Gaza continues to rise, the US administration under Joe Biden has been under growing and unprecedented opposition at home for the unconditional support it has given Israel. Under such circumstances, the delivery time for the weapons in the latest arms sales is expected to take several years.

But the sale exposes the US’ obstinacy in continuing its favoritism and partiality for Israel no matter how many crimes the latter has committed in Gaza. Latest statistics from the Palestinian side show the Palestinian death toll in ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza has risen to nearly 40,000.

The Israel-Hamas conflict has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But the US has maintained a one-sided stance in the conflict. Instead of joining the world community to push the belligerent parties to resolve their differences, it has been obdurate in providing weapons to its key ally, even while making a show of urging Tel Aviv to exercise restraint and acting as a broker for peace talks.

The US’ irresponsible and immoral behavior has already sparked serious concerns and criticism among the international community. With the whole region grappling with the fear of a wider war and exacerbated tension after the killing of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran last month, any misstep is likely to push the situation to breaking point.

On Tuesday, Iran rejected a call by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany urging it to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would further escalate regional tensions, calling it an “excessive request”. Yet these European leaders have not voiced the same urgency for the US to stop enabling Israel’s acts of aggression. If the US-led West continues to persist with its partiality in the Middle East and keeps undercutting others’ efforts to resolve the conflict, more people will be exposed to the perils of a wider war.

Gaza needs a truce rather than arms.

Like most members of the international community that wish to see an end to the conflict, China remains firm in calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire and an end to the collective punishment of the people in Gaza for the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. It is high time the US stopped fanning the flames in the Middle East and joined hands with those countries trying to broker a cease-fire in Gaza and working to bring lasting peace and stability to a region that has been convulsed by enmities for far too long.