T. Belman. This title and the article are misleading.
After the Biden administration appeared to leave open the possibility that the US might condition aid to Israel in the future, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told lawmakers this week that the White House isn’t seeking conditions on the aid for Jerusalem that it is asking Congress to pass.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who was among lawmakers who met privately with Sullivan on Tuesday, tells The Associated Press that Sullivan “made it clear that the White House is not asking for any conditionality in aid. So I want to leave that very clear.” A second person directly familiar with the meeting confirmed the account.
During the meeting, Sullivan took questions from Senate Democrats about how the administration would ensure that any American weapons provided to Israel would be used in accordance with US law, AP reports.
Several progressive Democrats have called for conditioning aid to Israel, as the civilian casualty figures in Gaza increase along with frustration over Israel’s conduct in the West Bank.
Asked last week about the proposal, Biden said it was a “worthwhile thought,” but argued that he would not have managed to secure the release of hostages, the increase of aid into Gaza and the implementation of a temporary ceasefire had he taken a more hardline approach toward Israel.
Still, his top aides refused to categorically rule out the idea of conditioning aid when asked in several interviews earlier this week.
Sullivan’s remarks to lawmakers appeared to all but put the proposal — which wouldn’t be able to pass Congress regardless — to bed.
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Meeting comes in response to Senators’ letter with majority of Democratic caucus
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) released the following statement on their meeting yesterday with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and over a dozen of their colleagues to discuss the letter the Senators led with 23 of their colleagues to President Biden condemning the brutal terror attacks by Hamas, expressing support for immediate funding to replenish Israel’s defensive systems, and seeking information on two clear U.S. priorities: supporting an Israeli strategy that will effectively degrade and defeat the threat from Hamas and taking all possible measures to protect civilians in Gaza.
“Following the brutal terror attacks that Hamas conducted against Israel, America has stood united in our support for Israel’s duty to defend itself and hold Hamas accountable. As we noted in our letter, we believe the U.S. should immediately provide Israel with funding to support this effort, including funds to replenish its defensive systems.
“But to better understand the efficacy of U.S. funding that supports Israel’s operations inside Gaza, we requested answers from the President on how these funds are being used in order to ensure they support an Israeli strategy that will effectively degrade and defeat the threat from Hamas while taking all possible measures to protect civilians in Gaza. In our letter to President Biden, we raised several key issues, including maintaining a focus on returning hostages, reducing civilian casualties, delivering humanitarian aid, establishing a plan for post-war governance and the future of the region, and addressing extremist violence in the West Bank. During yesterday’s briefing, we had an opportunity to discuss with the Administration each of the questions raised in our letter.
“As we expressed in the meeting, we are grateful for their leadership in negotiating a temporary ceasefire to secure the release of many hostages and to allow some desperately needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza. We also expressed our appreciation for President Biden’s strong statements on the rising extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as well as their intention to place visa restrictions and their consideration of other forms of sanctions, on these extremist settlers. We support these efforts.
“But as the end of the temporary ceasefire looms ahead, we must do more to ensure the protection of innocent civilians. With the Netanyahu government’s indication that it intends to continue its ground invasion into the South and Khan Yunis, humanitarian considerations must remain front and center. This city – at the heart of southern Gaza – has nearly doubled in population as many of the 1.7 million Palestinians who have fled the north in compliance with IDF orders have sought refuge there. To aid civilians, as we noted in our letter, ‘we must not only do our part to provide urgently needed humanitarian relief to Gaza, but also insist that Israel take all necessary measures to help us facilitate such relief.’
“We are gravely concerned that a resumption in fighting threatens to once again renew the high rate of civilian casualties and further deepen the humanitarian crisis. We expressed these concerns in our meeting, and we appreciated the Administration’s acknowledgment of these issues. We are committed to working with the President and his Administration to address these concerns and to secure assurances from the Netanyahu coalition on them.
“As we made clear yesterday, this meeting was not a substitute for a public response to our questions – the Administration must provide transparent responses to the American people on these matters – but we appreciated the opportunity to discuss these issues in depth.
“We continue to support additional assistance to Israel in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attacks – but we are all in agreement that this assistance must be consistent with our interests and values and used in a manner that adheres to international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, and U.S. law. We need to find a better path toward helping Israel achieve legitimate military and security objectives. U.S. assistance has never come in the form of a blank check – regardless of the recipient.”
Not only is the world watching. Hashem is watching also and he repays, measure for measure.
If the government of the US makes the wrong choices in relation to Israel, America will receive Judgement.
Psa 83: 1 O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 Even now your enemies are in tumult;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against those you protect.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5 They conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined them;
You can read the last half of the Psa. 83 to see what happens.
The democrats have no understanding of how Muslim Arabs view Israel and view their war against Israel. The Muslim Arabs are engaged in a war to completely destroy the Jewish State of Israel and use every means available to kill, maim, butcher, rape, burn, behead, torture and take hostage the Jews. They don’t worry about humanitarian concerns for their own people let alone for Jews.
So the humanitarian concerns on the part of anyone, democrats in the US or delegates at the UN or the EU are merely window dressing to hide the fact that they are on the side of Hamas and the Palestinians, and they will use “humanitarian” concerns to hobble Israel in every way possible.
This, in essence, is a genocide being perpetrated not just by Hamas, but by all the world powers who are joining behind Hamas, all the while pretending to support Israel. Look at their behavior, not their pretense. The US behavior as “ally” has been to knee cap Israel, not knee cap Hamas.
The world is watching the genocide and supporting it by not helping Israel defeat Hamas
@Ted
A very important observation.
Even more relevant than what the US army might do,no such preclusion is placed on Ukraine as they use Himars to indescriminantly shell Donetz City other urban centers, and with the American support have peppered cluster bombs all over Russian held civilian areas. But the best example remains your reference to the aid being supplied to Hamas and the PA. If aid to Israel is to have such stringent strings attached let them use the aid to control the violence in J&S and give up the hostages which are still within Hamas’ grasp.
Both the Magid article and Van Hallen statemenbt are misleading. In fact they are seeking conditions.
Even if the Senate approves the aid without conditions, doesn’t mean that the WH won’t impose conditions.
Secondly, the senator’s position is all about imposing conditions.
The conditions being imposed on Israel are never imposed on the US army in its conflicts. Secondlythey make the primary goal of defeating Hamas all the more difficult. Thye senators clearly say they support the goal but then make it harder to achieve.
There is no such violence but their is terrorism by the “Palestinians”.. They should be conditioning aid to the “Palestinians” that they stop their attemps to kill Jews. Just today there was another terrorist attack in Jerusalem which injured 7 Israelis.