Democrats propose amendment conditioning aid to Israel over delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza

More than a dozen Senate Democrats are pushing for legislation that would block weapons sales to countries that prevent or restrict U.S. humanitarian assistance to those in need, looking to attach the bill to a vote on President Biden’s national security supplemental.

The legislation does not single out Israel directly, but Democratic sponsors of the text say it is aimed at ensuring humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza as the U.S. provides weapons to Israel.

The Biden administration has backed Israel’s war with Hamas, causing strains in the Democratic party. Lawmakers have warned the war is leading to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

According to a summary of the bill, it would “buttress current law that prohibits U.S. security assistance to any country that prevents or restricts U.S. humanitarian assistance to those in need, subject to a presidential waiver.”

“It is imperative that all assistance to Israel abide by U.S. and international law, prioritize the protection of civilians, assure the provision of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, and align with a long-term vision for peace, security, and two-state diplomatic solution,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement.

Markey is one of 19 senators supporting the bill text, which is being introduced as an amendment to a more than $100 billion security package to provide military assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and that is expected to be voted on in the Senate on Wednesday.

While there is a majority support in Congress for U.S. military assistance to Israel, some Democrats, and in particular progressives, have raised alarm that Israel is blocking, slowing or obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Last week, 23 Democrats called for Biden to encourage Israeli officials to take five concrete steps to scale up humanitarian deliveries in Gaza, where a population of more than 2 million people is suffering from displacement, spread of disease, scarcity of food, water, medical care.

“American taxpayer dollars should be used in line with our values and our interests,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), lead sponsor of the amendment, who also called for scaling up deliveries of aid into Gaza.

“This amendment requires that all recipients of U.S. military assistance in the national security supplemental use our support in accordance with U.S. law and international humanitarian law and that they cooperate fully with our efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance. It also puts in place the reporting requirements necessary to track these measures and ensure transparency and accountability. These provisions make critical improvements to the supplemental, which is why I’ll be insisting on a vote.”

The bill requires the president receive assurances from any country receiving weapons through the supplemental that they are cooperating “fully with U.S.-supported efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need.” It provides the president the power to waive this provision if deemed in the national security interest. 

The provisions do not apply to funds for air defense systems or other systems that the president determines will be used for strictly defensive purposes.