US President Joe Biden signed a bill Wednesday morning that provides military aid for Israel. The package includes $13 billion in aid for Israeli defensive activities, $3.6 billion in security assistance and $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza. That comes in addition to a separate allocation of $1 billion for direct humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Biden warned Israel to ensure the assistance reaches its intended recipients.
The bill also provides $8 billion to the Indo-Pacific region for Taiwan to counter China, and a whopping $61 billion for Ukraine as it battles for its life against Russia.
The US Senate passed the bills — which included one to force the sale of the Chinese-owned TikTok social media platform in the United States — in a vote of 79 to 18 after they were passed in the House on Saturday. Oddly, both Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott from Florida, with its huge Jewish population, voted against the bill. It’s not clear why.
“Just 10 days ago we saw Iran launch over 100 missiles and drones at Israel,” Biden reminded reporters. “An unprecedented attack following years of Iran supporting Hezbollah, Hamas and proxies … they fund these guys,” he commented.
“My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad. The security of Israel is critical. I’ll always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and the terrorists it supports.
“With this aid the United States can help replenish Israel’s air defense, and provide other critical [ordnance] so Iran can never carry out the destruction it intended when it attacked 10 days ago.”
“At the same time, this bill significantly increases the humanitarian assistance we’re sending to the innocent people of Gaza who are suffering badly — who are suffering the consequences of the war that Hamas started,” Biden emphasized.
“This bill includes one billion dollars in additional humanitarian aid in Gaza,” he said. “We’re going to immediately secure that aid and surge it, including food, medical supplies, clean water, and Israel MUST MAKE SURE that all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza, WITHOUT DELAY,” he declared, waggling his finger with a “bad boy” shake for emphasis.
“And everything we do is guided by the ultimate goal of bringing these hostages home, securing a ceasefire, and setting the conditions for an enduring peace,” Biden added.
Since Israel has absolutely no control over the aid once it crosses the border into Gaza, which Biden obviously knows, his motivation for the “nu nu-ing” the Jewish State is unclear.
Likewise, “securing a ceasefire” has more to do with ending the ability of Hamas to attack and retain hostages than it has to do with negotiations — as seen by the repeated failures of talks aimed at securing an agreement, with each proposal rejected by the Iranian backed terror group.
