The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve legislation providing $1 billion to Israel for upgrading its Iron Dome missile defense system, just two days after funding was removed from a broader spending bill. The House supported the legislation with 420 votes in favor and 9 against, including 8 Democrats and 1 Republican, while 2 members abstained from voting. Following this sweeping approval, the bill was sent to the Senate, where leaders have not scheduled a vote on it.
Some of the more liberal Democrats in the House had opposed this provision, stating they would vote against the broader spending bill if it were included. This threatened the passage of the bill given the narrow Democratic majority in the House, as Republicans oppose the federal government funding plan until December 3 and raising the nation's borrowing limit. The removal of the legislation from the broader bill led Republicans to label Democrats as anti-Israel, despite a long-standing bipartisan tradition of strong support for Israel, which receives billions in aid from Washington annually.
Israel responded quickly. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement saying, "Thank you to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, for their overwhelming support for Israel and their commitment to its security. Those who doubt this support received a resounding response today."
Some liberal Democrats recently expressed concerns regarding U.S.-Israeli policy, citing human rights issues, such as the civilian casualties among Palestinians when Israel responded to Hamas's rocket attacks in May. Israel stated that most of the 4,350 rockets launched from Gaza during the conflict were intercepted in the sky by the Iron Dome’s defensive missiles. Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, who opposed the funding, said during discussions, "We also need to talk about the Palestinians' need for protection from Israeli attacks."
The legislation presented to the House on Wednesday allocates $1 billion to replace interceptor missiles used during the May conflict.
