By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has contracted cargo planes to send drones, body armor and helmets to Israel and worked to “get weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties,” his office said on Thursday.
There were few details disclosed about the shipments, including where the materials originated, and which third parties Florida worked with. It was also unclear how the ammunition would ultimately be used.
While it is legal for a U.S. state to send aid to a foreign government, exporters of ammunition and other types of military equipment, including many types of body armor, generally must navigate U.S. export license requirements.
The DeSantis administration did not respond to requests for comment regarding the details of its shipments to Israel, nor did the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees many of the export controls related to ammunition and military-grade equipment.
DeSantis, who is running for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race, has tried to portray himself as the staunchest Israel ally in the primary field.
He has sharply criticized former President Donald Trump, who is by far the frontrunner, for criticizing Israel’s intelligence capabilities in October and calling Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah “very smart.”
In the Thursday statement, Jeremy Redfern, the press secretary for DeSantis’ gubernatorial office, wrote that the shipments had been requested by the Israeli consulate in Miami.
“At the request of the Israeli Consul General in Miami, cargo planes contracted by Florida were used to transport healthcare and hospital supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets that first responders can use,” he wrote.
“We also worked with the Consul General to help get weapons and ammunition to Israel through private parties.”
The Israeli consulate did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Biden administration.
There is widespread support among Americans for Israel in its conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to an October Reuters/Ipsos poll. That is particularly true among Republicans.
Some 54% of Republicans said the U.S. should support Israel, versus 22% who said the U.S. should be a neutral mediator and 1% who said the U.S. should support the Palestinians. The poll did not specify what type of support America should provide.
Earlier in October, DeSantis had sent two cargo planes to Israel containing medical supplies, toys, clothing and other non-combat-related items.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; additional reporting by James Oliphant, Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk, David Shepardson and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis)
