U.S. Blocks Shipment of Rifles to Israel Over Concerns of West Bank Settler Violence

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is holding back a shipment of more than 27,000 U.S.-made rifles intended for Israel’s national police over concerns they could end up transferred to extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank, U.S. officials said. The three cases of firearms, which include M4 and M16 rifles, have been awaiting the administration’s mandated notification to Congress for more than a month. The administration has yet to approve their transfer, as officials and members of Congress press Israel for assurances that they won’t land in the hands of extremists, the officials said.