Washington: The United States House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel amid its war with Hamas. The House, led by Republicans, gave clearance to the bill seeking to rebuke the Democrats for delaying bomb shipments.
The Israel Security Assistance Support Act passed the House 224 to 187, mostly along party lines, as reported by Reuters. Sixteen Democrats joined most Republicans in voting yes, and three Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the act. The act is less likely to become law, however, its passage highlighted the deep U.S. election-year divide over Israel policy during the US election year as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to wipe out militants who attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
According to Palestinian authorities, at least 35,272 civilians have lost their lives during Israel’s campaign in Gaza, Reuters reported. As a major consequence of the conflict, malnutrition is widespread, and much of the population of the coastal enclave has been left homeless, with infrastructure destroyed.
Republicans accused the US President of turning his back on Israel after he was faced with widespread pro-Palestinian protests.
Speaking at a news conference with other party leaders on Wednesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “This is a catastrophic decision with global implications. It is obviously being done as a political calculation, and we cannot let this stand,” as quoted by Reuters.
Democrats have also accused the other party of playing politics, stating that Republicans are distorting Joe Biden’s position on Israel. Ahead of the vote, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a news conference, “It is not a serious effort at legislation, which is why some of the most pro-Israel members of the House Democratic caucus will be voting no,” as quoted by Reuters.
The passage of the Israel Security Assistance Support Act came shortly after the White House halted a shipment of weapons to the U.S. ally.
Israel, a major recipient of military assistance from Washington for decades, is still due to get billions of dollars of weaponry from the US, despite the delay of one shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kg) and 500-pound bombs and the review of other weapons shipments by the Biden administration, Reuters reported. On Tuesday, the State Department moved a $1 billion package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, the news agency reported, citing U.S. officials.
