Christian Smith
(NewsNation) – The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that would force President Joe Biden to pursue arms transfers to Israel.
This comes after the Biden administration, citing concern for civilian casualties in Gaza, halted a recent shipment of bombs to Israel to prevent those specific munitions from being used while the Rafah offensive continued. World leaders have warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to limit operations in the southern city of Gaza, where many Palestinians have fled after being displaced by the Israel-Hamas War.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel lacked a “credible plan” to protect some 1.4 million Palestinian civilians in Rafah and warned that an Israeli attack could create an insurgency if it failed. kill all Hamas fighters in the southern city of Gaza.
Israel’s military operation in Gaza has killed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. This offensive followed the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, in which members of the militant group killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
House Republicans criticized the weapons freeze earlier this month and are now pushing legislation that would require munitions to be delivered to Israel within 15 days of its enactment. NewsNation partner The Hill reported.
The bill, which is expected to come up for a vote in the House on Thursday, would also defund State and Defense department offices until all aid intended for Israel has been sent.
Congressional sources told NewsNation that Democratic leadership is trying to get its members to vote against this bill.
House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday that the bill is not a serious effort to protect America’s national security. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md. told NewsNation that the legislation does not address issues in Israel or Gaza.
“If we want to bring this conflict to a bilateral ceasefire, let’s do that. If we want to get more humanitarian aid, let’s do it,” Ivey said. “I don’t think this solves any of those.”
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, rejected comments like these.
“We can’t just say ‘I’m with Israel,’ we have to actually be with Israel,” Gonzales said. “You can’t do politics in the middle of a war.”
Despite Thursday’s early vote in the House, the measure has little chance in the Senate and even less chance of receiving Biden’s signature. Additionally, congressional aides told the Associated Press that the Biden administration has told top lawmakers it plans to move forward with a new $1 billion arms and ammunition sale to Israel. This would be the first arms shipment to Israel since the last one was suspended.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Update for updates.
