In a letter, approximately 300 US legislators have demanded Washington to linger on aid to Israel without preconditions or reduction, a week after progressive Democratic legislators projected a bill seeking to regulate American aid, in an effort to stop human rights abuse against Palestinians.
The letter called out the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rosa DeLauro, and is signed by 328 lawmakers, urging Democrats and Republicans to fully fund the $3.8bn in annual security assistance to Israel that was authorized in 2016 as part of a 10-year memorandum of understanding between then-President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The move comes within efforts by progressive Democrats to seek Israeli accountability for the treatment of Palestinians, including the detention of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
The letter said, with aid being necessary for Israel to defend itself from “persistent threats”, “reducing funding or adding conditions on security assistance would be detrimental to Israel’s ability to defend itself against all threats”.
It cited a suspected Iranian attack on an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman in February of 2021, and anti-tank missiles launched by Lebanon’s Hezbollah against an Israeli military vehicle in 2019.
“American security assistance to Israel helps counter these threats, and our rock-solid security partnership serves as a deterrent against even more significant attacks on our shared interests,” said the letter.
