Republicans approves bill compelling Biden to arm Israel

In an effort to chastise the Democrat for postponing bomb shipments while pressuring Israel to take additional precautions to protect civilians during its battle with Hamas, the Republican-led US House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would compel President Joe Biden to transfer weapons to Israel.

By a vote of 224 to 187, the Israel Security Assistance Support Act was passed mainly along party lines. On Thursday, three Republicans voted against the bill, while sixteen Democrats and the majority of Republicans supported it.

Although it is unlikely to become law, the act’s passage highlighted the stark differences in US opinion surrounding Israel policy during election season. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration is working to eliminate Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on October 7, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping over 250 more.

According to Palestinian officials, Israel’s operation in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 35,272 Palestinians. In addition to severe malnutrition and damaged infrastructure, a large portion of the coastal population is homeless.

“This choice has disastrous ramifications for the entire world. Speaker of the Republican-controlled House Mike Johnson stated, “We cannot let this stand. It is obviously being done as a political calculation,” during a press conference on Wednesday with other party officials.

Democrats said Republicans were misrepresenting Biden’s stance on Israel and accused his opponents of playing politics.

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Before the vote, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a press 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.”

Massive losses in Rafah

This month, Biden put a stop to the bombs’ transportation because he was worried that they would cause a great deal of deaths in Rafah and would discourage Israel from carrying out the strike.

Additionally, Biden stated to CNN early in May that if Israeli soldiers enter “population centres,” he would not be “supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah.”

Protesters, legislators, and human rights groups from all throughout the US have warned the president that the guns are being used for war crimes and breaches of human rights in Gaza and have called for a halt to the deliveries.

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Despite the Biden administration’s investigation of other weapons shipments and the suspension of one shipment of 2,000-pound (907kg) and 500-pound bombs, Israel, a significant beneficiary of US military support for decades, is still scheduled to receive billions of dollars worth of US weapons.

According to US sources, the State Department as recently as Tuesday shifted a $1 billion package of arms aid for Israel into the congressional review process.