Senate Dems Divided on Conditioning Aid to Israel

As countries around the world continue to keep a close eye on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Senate Democrats are divided on conditioning military aid to Israel.

On Oct. 7, Israel was attacked by the internationally recognized terrorist group Hamas. In response, Israel has bombed several sites in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that it was his goal to eradicate Hamas.

However, Israel has also received much criticism for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region. Prior to the deadly attack, Israel supplied the region with food and energy, but they cut off the supply in response to Hamas’s actions. Furthermore, because of the fighting between Hamas and Israel, it has been difficult to get aid into the Gaza region. The two have recently engaged in a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages that is still currently going on.

Senate Democrats such as Representative Bernie Sanders (D-VT) are on board with the idea of giving military support to Israel as long as some conditions are met.

Rep. Sanders's concerns deal with what he considers to be Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza. Israel has been questioned over various strikes in the region. Some of the questionable strikes in Gaza have actually been attributed to Hamas by both Israel and the U.S.

Several pro-Israel Senate Democrats dismissed the idea of conditioning military aid to Israel. Given the fact that Democrats will need help from across the aisle, the dismissal essentially works as a sign that legislation built on those terms is unlikely to pass.

House and Senate Democrats and Republicans have had to use a bipartisan effort to pass several bills, recently, and Texas Representative Pete Sessions (R) took issue with the way he sees the concept playing out.

Though Republicans hold the majority in the House, Democrats hold the majority in the Senate. Rep. Sessions stated that the House has had to “negotiate with the Senate” in order to get their bills passed. The House GOP has written multiple bills on border security but, because of the nature of the legislation, Senate Democrats have not given their support.