Washington DC – A US rights group has raised the alarm over President Joe Biden’s demand for $14 billion in funding for Israel, noting that the request contains language suggesting efforts to expel Palestinians from Gaza.
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) warned on Monday that Biden’s funding request could “fund” the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
“These resources would support displaced and conflict-affected civilians, including Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank” and “meet the potential needs of Gazans fleeing to neighboring countries,” explains a White House letter regarding the request for financing.
“This would include food and non-food items, healthcare, emergency shelter assistance, water and sanitation assistance and emergency protection. This would also include the potential costs of critical humanitarian infrastructure needed for the refugee population to access basic support that allows them to survive.
The letter, addressed to Congress and sent on October 20, goes on to say that the war between Israel and Hamas “could very well result in higher cross-border displacement and regional humanitarian needs, and that funding could be used to meet the needs.” changing programs outside Gaza. .
Concerns about Palestinian displacement grew after +972 magazine reported receiving a leaked Israeli government document outlining a plan to transfer Gaza’s entire population abroad. The magazine adds that a source from the Israeli Intelligence Ministry confirmed the authenticity of the document.
“The Biden administration is not only greenlighting ethnic cleansing, it is funding it,” Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN, said in a statement.
“Inciting Americans to facilitate long-standing Israeli plans to depopulate Gaza under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid’ is a cruel and grotesque hoax. »
Gaza is home to approximately 2.3 million people, the majority of whom are refugees or descendants of people displaced from historic Palestine during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment, but the Biden administration signaled this week that it does not approve plans to expel Palestinians from their homes.
On Sunday, Biden discussed with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi “the importance of protecting civilian lives, respecting international humanitarian law and ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or anywhere else.” other country “.
A day later, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the United States was still working on “safe passage” abroad for Gaza residents seeking to escape the bombing. ongoing Israeli operations, but he acknowledged that few people “want to flee forever and go elsewhere in the country.” the world”.
“So at some point you have to start thinking about what this is going to look like,” Kirby said. “And I just don’t know if we’ve had any solid answers to that question yet.”
Egypt refused to move the population of Gaza into its territory.
Domestically, Biden’s funding request ran into an early problem in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, despite his overwhelming support for Israel.
Republican lawmakers, led by newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, introduced a bill that separates aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine. Biden’s proposal had combined the funds for a total request of $105 billion.
Additionally, the Republican bill would offset Israeli aid by significantly reducing funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. tax agency – and a long-time target for conservatives.
Several Democrats expressed opposition to the Republican proposal, suggesting that the two parties would have to compromise to advance any financial aid legislation. Democrats control the Senate and the White House, whose approval is needed to pass laws.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected the Republican bill Tuesday, accusing right-wing lawmakers of seeking to help the wealthy avoid paying taxes by siphoning money from the IRS.
“It is insulting that the far right is openly trying to exploit the crisis in Israel to try to reward the ultra-rich,” Schumer, a staunch supporter of Israel, said in a statement.
“The new President knows perfectly well that if we want to help Israel, we cannot propose legislation full of poison pills. And this kind of needlessly partisan legislation sends the wrong message to our allies and adversaries around the world.
But far-right MP Lauren Beobert welcomed the bill.
“We cannot spend money unlimitedly. We have a debt of 33 trillion dollars. The money has to come from somewhere and it has to come from the IRS, which is being used as a weapon against the public,” she wrote on the social media platform X.
“Now Democrats can decide whether they prefer to help our allies in Israel or target Americans with the IRS. »
Israel’s foreign aid bill is brilliantly written.
$14.3 billion funded by IRS funds.
We cannot spend money unlimitedly. We have a debt of 33 trillion dollars. The money has to come from somewhere and it has to come from the IRS, which is being used as a weapon against the public.
Now the Democrats…
–Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 31, 2023
Progressive lawmakers have long called for conditions to be placed on aid to Israel – to discourage abuses against the Palestinians – but those voices remain a small minority in Congress.
Israel, accused of imposing apartheid on the Palestinians by major rights groups like Amnesty International, receives about $3.8 billion in U.S. military aid a year.
