US Senate predictably blocks bill on aid to Israel without Ukraine

Democrats in the US Senate have blocked Republican attempts on Tuesday, 7 November, to swiftly approve an emergency aid bill for Israel without any funds for Ukraine, which the House of Representatives passed last week.

Source: European Pravda, citing Reuters

Details: Representatives of the majority in the upper house of the US Congress stressed the importance of providing assistance to Ukraine and Israel in addition to humanitarian aid, border security funding, and money to push back against China in the Indo-Pacific.

They recalled that this was included in the US$106 billion funding request that US President Joe Biden sent to Congress last month.

Democrats have also accused Republicans in the US House of Representatives of playing politics with events in Israel, as they are tying aid to Israel to cuts in funding for the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

"Our allies in Ukraine can no more afford a delay than our allies in Israel," said Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Budget Committee.

The US House of Representatives bill envisages the allocation of US$14.3 billion to Israel in response to the 7 October attack by Islamist Hamas militants, as well as a reduction in funding for the US IRS by the same amount.

Even before the vote, US senators from both parties expressed doubts about the bill. And Biden's office made it clear even earlier that the president would veto such a bill if it came to his desk.

Read also: American Storm around Ukraine: Options for Future US Assistance

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