A growing number of Democrats in the House and the Senate are voicing their openness to placing conditions on future aid to Israel with the goal of reducing the number of civilian casualties in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians last month.
The shift is the latest divide among Democrats over the war in Gaza as lawmakers face increasing pressure from liberal constituents and pro-Palestinian activists to address the humanitarian crisis. Israel and Hamas extended a temporary ceasefire to allow more hostages to be released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a halt in fighting.
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President Joe Biden has called for an extra $14.3 billion in aid for the country, on top of the $3.8 billion the United States usually appropriates every year. Lawmakers are preparing to consider approving more U.S. aid to Israel in the coming weeks, although there appears to be deep uncertainty about the path forward as some Democrats are becoming more vocal about conditioning funding for Israel on its government taking steps to stop the fighting. Senate Democrats plan to discuss the idea further at their weekly lunch on Tuesday, according to multiple Democrats.
“I do not support simply giving $14 billion to Israel without any conditions at all, so I think it’s an issue that needs to be debated,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after a meeting with senior Israel Defense Forces officials on Monday.
Last week, a group of liberals, including Sanders, asked Biden and Congress to end the “blank check approach” and make annual aid to Israel conditional on an end to the bombing in Gaza and a freeze on settlements in the West Bank.
“The Netanyahu government, or hopefully a new Israeli government, must understand that not one penny will be coming to Israel from the U.S. unless there is a fundamental change in their military and political positions,” Sanders said last week.
Biden acknowledged these comments on conditioning aid Friday, saying the proposal was “a worthwhile thought” when speaking with reporters, but said there wouldn’t be as much progress if he had “started off with that.”
Last month, the White House appeared to signal it was rethinking its unwavering support for Israel. Biden privately apologized to Muslim leaders last month after expressing doubt about the number of people the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said had been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself,” he reportedly said. “I will do better.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan dodged questions about whether the administration would support adding conditions to Israel aid on network news shows on Sunday, but he didn’t directly oppose the idea.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appeared to endorse the idea of including stipulations on money appropriated for Israel.
“When we appropriate funds to a beta in the Asia Pacific or to the Air Force or to HUD, there are requirements, and I don’t think money to help Israel should be an exception to the general practice that the Congress has in describing how they want the money and how they expect the money to be spent,” Schatz said on Monday night.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has not ruled out the idea of placing conditions on Israel aid. According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, about 13,300 Palestinians have been killed.
“We regularly condition our aid to allies based upon compliance with U.S. law and international law. And, so, I think it’s very consistent with the ways in which we have dispensed aid, especially during wartime, to allies, for us to talk about making sure that the aid we give Ukraine or the aid we give Israel is used in accordance with human rights laws,” Murphy said during an appearance on CNN over the weekend.
“I do believe that the level of civilian harm inside Gaza has been unacceptable and is unsustainable,” he added.
Some Senate Democrats have previously raised concerns to Biden over Israel’s military operations in Gaza that have resulted in a growing death toll for Palestinian civilians. A group sent a letter, led by Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committee, requesting the administration brief them on how Israel was carrying out military operations in an effort to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) dodged questions from reporters on Monday night, asking whether he could support putting conditions on aid to Israel.
“We sent a letter, as you know. Twenty-six of us sent a letter to the president, asking certain questions about the assistance, and we are looking forward to their response as we consider next steps,” Van Hollen said.
Following the meeting on Monday night, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Israeli officials “did some good in explaining the challenges in conducting this war against Hamas.”
“There was no question about the solidarity and support of Israel, even if there were some critical comments,” Blumenthal said.
Other Democrats are making the case that aid to Israel should be supplied without any conditions.
“A resolution that would allow for the end of hostilities must not only include the release of all illegally-abducted Israeli hostages but also the full military and political surrender by Hamas and its removal from Gaza,” said Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in a statement on Monday.
“Unless those conditions are met, the United States must continue to support Israel’s just and legitimate defense of its borders and its people against a terrorist enemy dedicated to its annihilation. This support must include urgent supplemental aid to Israel without conditions, as requested by President Biden, so that we can unite in support of our close ally without any domestic political brinksmanship,” he added.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he intends to bring the president’s national security bill to the floor as soon as next week.
“I want to be clear that aid to Israel, Ukraine, humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and the Indo-Pacific are all related and demand bipartisan cooperation,” Schumer said, speaking on the Senate floor on Monday. “We don’t have the luxury to pick and choose our national security challenges.”
