US House of Representatives Vote Advances Israel’s $3.3B Security Aid Package
By The Media Line Staff
The US House of Representatives passed a State Department/foreign-operations funding bill on Wednesday that maintains $3.3 billion in security assistance for Israel as it is sent to the Senate for further action. The $3.3 billion is the Foreign Military Financing portion of the 2016 US-Israel memorandum of understanding, which set total military assistance at $3.8 billion per year from fiscal year 2019 through fiscal year2028.
The remaining $500 million that brings the annual total to $3.8 billion is dedicated to missile defense cooperation, supporting anti-missile programs that are funded on the defense side of the US budget rather than inside the State/foreign-operations account.
In practical terms, the House action on the foreign-operations bill advances the largest slice of the yearly package (the $3.3 billion), while the missile defense portion continues through the defense budget track.
Alongside the funding levels, the House measure also carries Israel-related policy restrictions, including language that would bar US funding for UNRWA and restrict transfers to several international bodies tied to legal and investigative actions involving Israel. Next, the Senate must consider the bill before any of these figures or policy conditions are signed into law.
Alongside the funding levels, the House measure also carries Israel-related policy restrictions, including language that would bar US funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a UN body that provides services to Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
According to the Israeli government and various research groups, a number of UNRWA employees-including educators and school administrators-have ties to Hamas. Some were reportedly involved in the militant group’s October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, while others publicly praised the assault.
The legislation further blocks all funding to the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 announced arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the conflict in Gaza.
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