A report from Politico stated that the Biden administration opposes adding any conditions to the aid provided to Israel, as some Democratic party members seek guarantees that Israel will reduce the number of civilian casualties in Gaza, which represents a worsening division within the party over how to handle the rising number of Palestinian deaths.
Key Facts
According to three unnamed White House officials, President Biden is currently committed to providing a package of aid to Israel without any conditions, with one indicating that President Biden’s dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the ongoing hostage situation suggests that he may not rule out conditional aid in the future.
This report comes days after President Biden’s statements to reporters that the proposal was a “worthy idea,” and was described by two sources at Politico as a veiled warning to Netanyahu, amid President Biden softening his previously strong pro-Israel stance in light of calls for a permanent ceasefire and more than 15,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza.
President Biden’s insistence on approving his request for $14.3 billion in aid for Israel without any conditions may put him at odds with some key Democrats and pose a new challenge in passing the aid package through Congress, where he also faces roadblocks from House Republicans who want to tie additional funding to cuts in IRS services.
What to Watch For
The Senate could vote on a combined aid package for Israel and Ukraine by next week, with Schumer stating in a message to Senate Democrats on Sunday that House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican from Louisiana) also said this week that he is “confident” and “optimistic” that Congress can approve additional aid for both countries before the end of the year.
Background
President Biden’s aid request for Israel is part of a larger $106 billion aid package that also includes funding for Ukraine, the Pacific, border security enhancements, and humanitarian assistance for Gaza. In the House, Republicans want to split the aid for Ukraine and Israel into two separate packages, with the latter tied to cuts in IRS funding and the aid for Ukraine linked to stricter border controls. Some right-wing Republicans in the House also oppose any additional funding for Ukraine. Broadly, senators on both sides of the aisle agree on the necessity of approving more aid for both countries, but Republicans in the upper chamber say their support for Ukraine aid is also conditional on additional security measures at the border. Meanwhile, progressive Democrats in the House have criticized the Biden administration for refusing to endorse a permanent ceasefire, with some, including Representative Rashida Tlaib (Democrat from Michigan), angering others within the party for what some see as a failure to condemn Hamas’s attacks on Israel.
President Biden caused some confusion on Tuesday when he tweeted what some social media users interpreted as a mild endorsement of a ceasefire. “Continuing down the path of terrorism and violence and killing and war gives Hamas what they seek,” he wrote. “We cannot do that.” President Biden has repeatedly stated that he supports a “humanitarian pause” in the violence, but has not called for a halt to Israeli strikes.
Source: Forbes
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