By Wesam Bahrani
House bill passed despite global outcry over Gaza
TEHRAN- The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday approved a massive foreign aid package, including a controversial $26 billion for the Israeli occupation despite the Gaza genocide.
The bill is backed by the Democrat-controlled Senate, which is expected to be easily passed and then rubber-stamped into law by President Joe Biden within the coming days.
Among the bill’s provisions, the Israeli military will receive around $14 billion, which includes $3.5 billion to purchase advanced weapons systems.
$4.4 billion has been allocated for the Israeli forces to obtain other military supplies and U.S. military services.
$5.2 billion has been designated to replenish Israeli missile and rocket systems.
There are provisions that would make it easier to supply the Israeli military with U.S. munitions being held in third countries as well as U.S. military operations in the region.
Another $1 billion will be spent for the purposes of enhancing the Israeli army’s own weapons production.
Furthermore, $9.2 billion to meet humanitarian needs in war zones has also been lumped into the Israeli aid bill which is quite vague.
The humanitarian aid is supposedly meant for war zones across the globe such as Haiti, Sudan and Gaza.
Yet the package includes a ban on any funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the UN body that handles the majority of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Around 20 House representatives issued a joint statement denouncing the military aid to the Israeli occupation regime, saying, “Most Americans do not want our government to write a blank check to further Prime Minister Netanyahu’s war in Gaza.”With UNRWA forbidden from any U.S. funds, it is widely believed the Israeli occupation will continue to control whatever supplies can enter Gaza.
Last week, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that Israeli commitments to improve aid access to Gaza have had “limited and sometimes no impact”.
“To avert imminent famine, and further preventable deaths from disease, we need a quantum leap in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.
Famine has taken hold in parts of Gaza, made worse by acute shortages of shelter, medicine and clean water. Almost everyone in the enclave now depends on donated food, as the genocidal Israeli war is in its seventh month.
That hasn’t been reflected in the “U.S. bill for Israel”, which experts say will encourage Tel Aviv to expand its war crimes in Gaza and open a path for the invasion of Rafah, the last place of refuge where Israeli ground forces have yet to invade.
Rafah is now home to more than half of Gaza’s 2.2 million population, who are seeking shelter, with no homes to return to.
The weapons transfer is the largest to the Israeli military since it invaded Gaza. It would be an addition to a separate package being considered by the Biden administration, which includes tank shells, mortars and armored vehicles.
U.S. arms manufacturers have been closely watching the passage of the long-awaited legislation.
It will be the U.S. military-industrial complex that stands to make huge amounts of profit as they will be the first in line for large contracts to supply weapons and military services for the Israeli occupation regime, Ukraine and other U.S. allies such as Taiwan.
For weeks, the same arms manufacturers have been lobbying U.S. lawmakers to pass the military assistance bills, which critics say will also see some House representatives take a slice of the profits.
It all raises question marks again over whether Capitol Hill is serving the American population back home, which is facing numerous domestic issues or the agenda of hawks and arms companies who serve instability and war far beyond American borders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the approval of billions of dollars in new military aid reflects strong U.S. “support for Israel”.
In a post on social media, he said, “The U.S. Congress just overwhelmingly passed a much-appreciated aid bill that demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel. Thank you friends, thank you America!”
The death toll from the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has climbed to more than 34,000, with the majority of the victims being women and children.
Around 77,000 people have also been injured, according to authorities in the Gaza health ministry. The figures exclude tens of thousands of civilians who are believed to be buried in the bombed-out ruins of homes, shops, shelters and other buildings.
While there were more abstentions than expected, the vote on granting additional funding for the Israeli military very easily passed the House, with 365 in favor and only 57 opposed, highlighting bipartisan support for the occupation.
In a statement released after the vote, around 20 House representatives issued a joint statement denouncing the military aid to the Israeli occupation regime, saying, “Most Americans do not want our government to write a blank check to further Prime Minister Netanyahu’s war in Gaza.”
The politicians also approved nearly $61 billion in military aid to prolong the war in Ukraine, including $23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities.
Anti-war campaigners have called for an end to U.S. arms shipments to the warzone and work on a peace plan instead.
American allies in the Asia-Pacific region, chiefly Taiwan, will also benefit from more than $8 billion, with about $3.3bn for submarines and $2 billion in other military assistance.
The measure will undoubtedly raise tensions with China, which has repeatedly called on Washington to end its troublesome support for Taiwanese separatists.
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