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Republicans are planning to hold President Biden’s feet to the flame for his threat to withhold Congressionally-approved offensive weapons to Israel. As Israel entered Gaza’s southern city of Rafah earlier this month the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) appeared poised to root out what they claimed was one of Hamas ‘s last bastions of defense. Days later, Joe Biden sent a strong message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning him not to mount a ground invasion into Rafah – where over one million Palestinians have sought refuge – and pausing a shipment of bombs to the country.
Biden’s pause on bombs to Israel elicited outrage from GOP lawmakers and even some Israel-supporting Democrats , while garnering applause from pro-Palestinian lawmakers. Now, in a rebuke against Biden, the House is expected to vote this week on a bill that would force the president to provide Israel with the weapons Congress approved. That legislation, called the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, was announced by the House Appropriations Committee on May 11.
The bill 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. If passed, the Biden administration would have 15 days to ship the aid previously withheld. 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.
‘Unlike the Administration, House Appropriators will not waver in our ironclad support for Israel,’ said a joint statement from House appropriators Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., Tom Cole, R-Okla., Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and David Joyce, R-Ohio. ‘The House and Senate acted on the will of the people, overwhelmingly providing Israel with the firepower to send a message: the U.S. and our allies will not cower to terrorist organizations like Hamas.’ ‘The Administration is expected to utilize the very aid it requested to equip Israel with what it needs to defend itself, destroy Hamas, and maintain peace in the region.’
‘Any actions to withhold resources impede our national and global security and send a dangerous signal that the U.S. cannot be counted on as a partner.’ But during the White House press conference Monday, Sullivan reiterated to reporters 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 at the White House’s daily press conference.
‘We’re talking to the Israeli Government about this,’ he added. ‘We still believe it is 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.’ Later in the briefing, Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House is against the GOP’s Israel Security Assistance Support Act, saying it would restrict the president’s authority. ‘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.’
The bill is expected to receive a vote as early as Wednesday. Still, the Democrat-held Senate is unlikely to take up the Republican-led measure, meaning the bill is largely symbolic. But the expected vote forcing Biden to ‘provide for the expeditious delivery’ of Israel’s military aid could prove a problem for House Democrats. Many in the conference have voiced loud opposition to Israel’s handling of its offensive in Gaza. In recent weeks, several far-left progressive ‘Squad’ members have visited college protests that have advocated for the liberation of Palestinians and the destruction of Israel.
‘Squad’ members Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., went as far as hosting some pro-Gaza protestors on Capitol Hill last week who were arrested for participating in demonstrations at George Washington University in D.C. However, there is also a contingent of pro-Israel Democrats who have called into question Biden’s pause on arms to Israel. On Friday, 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.’ The dueling Democrat factions of pro-Israel and pro-Gaza will surely split on the expected vote on the Israel Security Assistance Support Act.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .