Bill providing $17.6 billion in aid to Israel rejected in US House of Representatives

The US House of Representatives rejected a bill that proposed $17.6 billion in aid to Israel because it provided "aid to Israel alone," excluding other domestic and foreign policy issues, most notably Ukraine.

In the vote held in the House of Representatives, 250 votes were cast in favor, while 180 votes were cast against the bill.

In the vote, where 166 Democratic members of the House of Representatives voted no, it was notable that 14 Republican representatives also opposed the bill, which would have provided additional support to Israel.

Thus, although the bill reached 250 votes in favor, it fell short of the two-thirds majority required for passage and was rejected in the House of Representatives, where support for Israel is quite high.

It was stated that most of the Democratic representatives who voted no opposed the bill—which was brought to a vote by Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and provided support solely to Israel while excluding aid to Ukraine, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and support for Taiwan—for political reasons.

On the other hand, it was noted that representatives close to the progressive wing, including Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of the House of Representatives, and Ilhan Omar, another Muslim representative, opposed the bill due to Israel's serious violations of international law in its attacks on Gaza.

While Democrats have long wanted to vote on and pass military aid to Ukraine and Israel along with provisions regarding the security of the US-Mexico border in a single package, Republicans tend to evaluate the border security issue separately and demand more than the measures proposed by the Biden administration.

US President Joe Biden had also stated in a previous announcement that he would veto the bill if it reached his desk providing support only to Israel, without the provisions for Ukraine and border security.

Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, in a statement to the media after the vote, assessed, "No one can accuse President Biden of being anti-Israel, but if we pass this (bill providing support only to Israel), all other issues will be trashed."

The $118 billion package, which was expected to come to the agenda in the US Senate this week and includes aid to Ukraine and Israel as well as border security provisions, had already been shelved following the announcement by Republicans that they would vote against it.

Previously, the first Ukraine package that came to the agenda in the Senate in December 2023 was also rejected by the votes of Republicans, who brought up border security issues.

News Source: AA