Democrats helped pass a bill Thursday to force Joe Biden to deliver Israel military – infuriating the progressive flank of the party.
The split in the Democrats’ approach to the war has become stark in recent weeks, leading to tension among liberal lawmakers.
Pro-Israel House Democrats have expressed solidarity with the embattled nation while Biden and progressive lawmakers have shown skepticism, if not outrage, over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s plans to invade Rafah.
In a rebuke to the White House, House Democrats teamed up with Republicans to pass the bill to force Biden’s hand, highlighting the precarious position some left-leaning lawmakers find themselves in over their support for Israel.
President Joe Biden has been scrutinized for withholding a shipment of bombs to Israel while trying to signal his concerns over an IDF ground operation into Rafah
Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered Gaza‘s southern city and appeared poised to root out what they claimed was one of Hamas‘s last strongholds.
Days later, Joe Biden warned Netanyahu to mount a ground invasion into the city – and paused a shipment of bombs to the country.
Now, progressives are upset that some of their Democrat colleagues defected to back the Republican-led measure to force Biden to make good on his commitment to provide Israel military aid.
‘It is very upsetting to me,’ ‘Squad’ member Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., told DailyMail.com.
‘I think we should be focused on whatever we can do to de escalate and to save lives. And that’s why since October, I’ve been advocating for permanent ceasefire. It’s the only way to save lives, return hostages to their families and to deliver humanitarian aid.’
Still, she said that the party is united despite their differences on the war in Israel.
‘I think our caucus has proven over and over again, that we are a united caucus and even if we disagree about how to achieve just and lasting peace on the region, I do believe that is what everyone wants,’ she continued.
Her fellow ‘Squad’ member Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told DailyMail.com ‘We are Democrats, and we need to allow the President to continue to do the things that are going to get us to an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and to get the hostages released and to get humanitarian assistance in.’
‘I think that is what the President is trying to do,’ Jayapal continued. ‘We should not be tying his hands.’
The bill is ‘bad policy,’ Rep. Dean Phillips D-Minn., told Axios, adding it’s a ‘tough vote [for Democrats] because of the optics.’
‘There’s a lot of consternation about it, and that’s the sad truth about the institution.’
‘It’s more about political optics and putting people in tough positions instead of doing what’s right,’ Phillips continued.
The bill, called the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, was backed by 16 Democrats and easily passed in the House.
Among those were Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Darren Soto, D-Fla.
The measure would forbid the White House from withholding congressionally-approved foreign aid to Israel and would require the ‘prompt delivery’ of the supplies Biden vowed to hold back.
Should the White House not comply, funds for the Department of Defense and State Department would be restricted, including the salaries of certain federal officials.
If the bill passes the Senate, which is unlikely, the Biden administration would have 15 days to ship the aid previously withheld.
Smoke rises following Israeli airstrike on Rafah as the IDF attempts to rid the city of Hamas militants
Displaced Palestinians pack their belongings and tents before leaving an unsafe area in Rafah on May 15, 2024, as Israeli forces continued to battle and bomb Hamas militants around the southern Gaza Strip city
Biden and many Democrat lawmakers have expressed their concern in recent weeks that Palestinian refugees in Rafah – many of whom escaped from other parts of Gaza over security concerns – do not have anywhere else to shelter from IDF military operations
‘If Schumer refuses to bring this bill up for a vote, he’ll be telling the world that his party, the Democrats, are no longer willing to stand with our great ally,’ Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday ahead of the vote.
‘Biden and Schumer are telling Israel that they are only really allowed to put out part of that fire. That is just simply not going to work. Israel needs to finish the job,’ Johnson said.
But to Johnson’s chagrin, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said this week the bill is ‘not going anywhere.’
And even if it did the White House announced Tuesday that Biden would veto the legislation.
The shipment in question consisted of 3,500 bombs, including 500 and 2,000 pound artillery, which have the capability of flattening swaths of Rafah, where roughly a million Palestinians have relocated to avoid the war in the north.
‘We strongly strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,’ White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
During the same press briefing, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reiterated to that Biden’s pause only extended to one specific shipment of bombs.
‘We have paused the shipment of 2000-pound bombs because we do not believe that should be dropped in densely populated cities,’ he said Monday.
‘We’re talking to the Israeli Government about this.’
‘We still believe it would be a mistake to launch a major military operation into the heart of Rafah that would put huge numbers of civilians at risk without a clear strategic gain,’ Sullivan added.
The move has been contentious and prompted Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida to file impeachment articles against Biden for withholding the congressionally-approved weapons shipment.
Tents for displaced people are crowded west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip after thousands of Palestinians fled Rafah after the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation there 12 May 2024
White House officials have warned Israeli officials against using large bombs in Rafah
Last week, a group of 26 House Democrats expressed concern over the White House’s decision, sent a letter to Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
‘We are deeply concerned about the message the Administration is sending to Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies by withholding weapons shipments to Israel, during a critical moment in the negotiations,’ the Democrats, led by Jewish Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., wrote.
‘We have a duty to continue to equip Israel with the resources she needs to defend herself and crush the terrorists who also seek to do America harm, free the hostages including the Americans, continue delivering critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza, and to stand by our democratic allies around the world.’
Some of the signatories to the letter voted to pass the bill Thursday.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .