Since the start of the war on Gaza, on October 7, however, the US has poured in billions of additional aid to Israel.
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, announced on Saturday that he would hold a vote on a “clean, standalone” aid package for Israel that will not entail any spending cuts.
The newly proposed legislation is set to include $17.6 billion in additional military funding as well as “important funding for US forces in the region.”
The initial $14.3 billion package, rejected by the Senate last year, included an equal amount in spending cuts to the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and was therefore branded by Democrats as a “poison pill.”
Israeli forces continue to besiege hospitals in Gaza and to pound several areas in the Strip, killing and wounding scores of Palestinians.https://t.co/VhM9bBSKeu pic.twitter.com/IuVJFllhi4
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 4, 2024
‘No Excuses’
“Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package,” he wrote in a letter to colleagues sent on Saturday afternoon. “The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally.”
The announcement comes as the Senate prepares to vote on a long-anticipated national security supplemental requested by US President Joe Biden, which will include tougher US border controls paired with nearly $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, as well as more assistance to Israel and Taiwan.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday that he was preparing to release the legislation text “no later than Sunday” with the first procedural vote coming by midweek.
However, Johnson previously criticized the impending deal, calling it “dead of arrival” in the lower chamber if the provisions are what they are rumored to be.
The Senate leadership “is aware that by failing to include the House in their negotiations, they have eliminated the ability for swift consideration of any legislation,” Johnson wrote.
The White House previously indicated that it would oppose a stand-alone Israel aid bill, with John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, saying President Biden would veto it.
The US is already Israel’s largest military supporter with annual aid to Tel Aviv estimated at a minimum of $3.8 billion.
Israeli forces continued to launch multiple airstrikes since dawn on Sunday, especially focusing on the central and southern regions of the Gaza Strip. https://t.co/ITW751vvJK pic.twitter.com/Ve15uiwT8a
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 4, 2024
Since the start of the war on Gaza, on October 7, however, the US has poured in billions of additional aid to Israel, including thousands of tons of ammunition and many types of military hardware.
Israel is being accused of committing genocide in Gaza. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 27,238 Palestinians have been killed, and 66,452 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(RT, PC)
