The US House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected a Republican-led bill that would provide $17.6 billion to Israel.
The vote passed 250 to 180. With 166 Democrats and 14 Republicans opposed, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill.
Many who voted against the bill both called for greater protection of human rights in the region and cited Israel’s ongoing offensive against the Gaza Strip.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday that the bill is “even worse than we expected” and “if this bill gets to the House, it will be dead on arrival.”
Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, urging opposition to the Israel-only bill, said:
“This accomplishes nothing and delays aid getting out to our allies and providing humanitarian relief. Our allies are facing existential threats and our friends and foes around the globe are watching, waiting to see how America will respond.”
Israel is one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid. Previously, the allocation of aid to the Israelis had strong bipartisan support in Congress. However, many opponents have called the House bill a political ploy by Republicans to divert their attention from opposing the $118 billion Senate bill.
That bill includes an overhaul of US immigration policy and new funding for border security with billions of dollars in emergency aid for Ukraine, Israel and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by Palestinian group Hamas on 7 October, killing at least 27,585 Palestinians and injuring 66,978, while some 1,200 Israelis have been killed in the Hamas attack.
According to the UN, the Israeli offensive has displaced 85 per cent of Gaza’s population. More than 80 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed.
