Israeli official clarifies Florida's role in weapons shipment after DeSantis' claims

Source: Miami Herald

Israeli official clarifies Florida’s role in weapons shipment after DeSantis’ claims

Ana Ceballos, Michael Wilner
Thu, October 26, 2023 at 4:35 PM EDT·5 min read

Israel’s consul general in Miami on Thursday clarified Gov. Ron DeSantis’ role in facilitating a claimed transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel, telling McClatchy that he asked the Florida governor’s office, among other parties, to provide final clearance for a private shipment of weapons parts in the early days of the war with Hamas.

DeSantis’ office and presidential campaign said earlier in the day that he had helped ship weapons and drones to Israel at the consulate’s request, without providing details. In an interview, the consul general, Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, said that a private donation of rifle inserts and other parts was scheduled to be sent on a commercial El Al flight within the first week of the war but that a final bureaucratic approval was necessary to get the shipment on the plane.

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A lack of clarity from governor’s office

Earlier on Thursday, DeSantis spokesperson Jeremy Redfern said in an email that the governor’s office had been contacted by the Israeli consul general in Miami for “assistance to clear federal bureaucratic hurdles” to get weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties. DeSantis’ presidential campaign put out a press release touting the effort as a potential boon to his candidacy.

When pressed for more details, Redfern declined to disclose the private parties or specify what the federal hurdles had been. Redfern later clarified that the state did not purchase the weapons and ammunition, and that those items “were transported separately” to Israel, without offering details on the mode of transport or source of funding.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/florida-role-sending-weapons-israel-203548766.html