(BrightPress.org) – The White House has once again found itself at odds with the House as legislators from Congress passed a bill compelling the U.S. to deliver certain weapons and armaments to Israel.
The legislation is a direct rebuke to an initiative by President Joe Biden seeking to limit the shipment of certain weapons to Israel in its ongoing armed offensive in Gaza versus the terrorist group Hamas. However, a significant difference this time around is that the bill from Congress is bipartisan after several Democrats joined hands with their Republican counterparts to pass the measure. The GOP-led bill passed 224-187.
Biden has sought to pause shipments of heavy bombs to the Jewish state, ostensibly in a bid to discourage Israel from conducting an armed offensive in Rafah, a section of Gaza. The U.S. is not alone in urging the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to push through with the offensive – Egypt, which has largely been neutral in the war in Gaza has threatened to downgrade its relationship with Israel if the Rafa offensive continues.
However, House Republicans argue that the White House has no business dictating how Israel goes about fighting Hamas in Gaza.
“[Israel] did not ask for this war,” Republican Texas Representative and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul said. “[Israel] did not start this war. Hamas started this war.”
The bill is largely symbolic and is expected to die an expected death in the Democrat-dominated Senate. However, it is a sign of the GOP’s condemnation of Biden’s waffling on its alliance and support of Israel following Hamas’ devastating October 7th, 2023 attacks on the Jewish state. The Israel-Hamas war has drawn ideological lines among voters, and many say that it will be a consideration for them when they cast their vote in the national elections later this year.
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