The White House shot back at Republican efforts to redirect aid from Gaza to the Iron Dome, arguing the GOP lawmakers behind new legislation should back President Biden\u2019s new supplemental funding bill for Israel.<\/p>\n
\u2018Before becoming the first American commander-in-chief to set foot in Israel during wartime, President Biden\u2019s unflinching backing for Israel in the wake of the worst terrorist atrocities in their history was welcomed across that country as the strongest expression of support from anyone to ever sit in the Oval Office,\u2019 White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital. \u2018He quickly sent military aid to Israel, and he has been clear that the United States will ensure Israel has what it needs to protect itself, \u2013 and those Americans living in and traveling to Israel \u2013 from terrorism.\u2019<\/p>\n
The comments come after a group of Republican senators led by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., introduced legislation Thursday that would require the president to transfer \u2018all unexpended balances of appropriations made available to Gaza to the Department of Defense, to be available for grants to Israel for the Iron Dome short-rage rocket defend system.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018In the wake of Iran-backed Hamas\u2019s savage attack on Israel in which over 1,300 people in Israel were murdered, including 30 Americans, and as Iran-backed Hamas terrorists continue to launch missiles and rockets into Israel, the American people have seen the images of Israel\u2019s Iron Dome missile defense systems repeatedly intercepting rockets and saving the lives of countless civilians,\u2019 Hagerty told Fox News Digital. \u2018My legislation requires the Biden Administration to halt U.S. foreign assistance from going to Hamas terrorist-dominated areas and instead to redirect these resources to help Israel resupply its life-saving Iron Dome interceptors.\u00a0The United States should unequivocally support the right of Israel to defend itself from terrorists.\u2019<\/p>\n
The bill has 11 GOP cosponsors, with some taking aim at Biden\u2019s priorities in the war.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Biden Administration insists on sending foreign assistance to Gaza, while Hamas steals it to fund weapons to kill Israelis and Americans,\u2019 Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
\u2018Instead of providing assistance to Gaza, the Biden Administration must ensure any taxpayer funds are used to support Israel\u2019s Iron Dome to defend its citizens from the savagery of Iran-backed Hamas,\u2019 Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, added.<\/p>\n
However, Bates argued that \u2018the overwhelming majority of the Palestinian People are not Hamas\u2019 and chastised the GOP effort to \u2018stop our work to feed innocent people.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018There is strong, bipartisan support for President Biden\u2019s efforts to deliver humanitarian necessities to the people of Gaza \u2013 like food, water, and medicine \u2013 without benefiting Hamas,\u2019 Bates said.<\/p>\n
Bates also pointed to the president\u2019s efforts to secure additional funding for the Israeli war effort, something he argued the GOP senators should support.<\/p>\n
\u2018If these congressional Republicans want to join President Biden in his efforts to help Israel destroy Hamas, we look forward to their endorsement of the supplemental funding bill he will soon propose,\u2019 Bates said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a National Security Council spokesperson pointed out to Fox News Digital that Biden made the Iron Dome\u2019s continued operation a priority in the early days of the war, pointing to Oct. 10 remarks in which the president vowed a surge of military aid to Israel.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re surging additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome. We\u2019re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens,\u2019 Biden said at the time. \u2018My administration has consulted closely with Congress throughout this crisis.\u00a0 And when Congress returns, we\u2019re going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.\u2019<\/p>\n
The spokesperson also pointed out that Biden promised to halt any aid if it fell into the hands of Hamas.<\/p>\n
\u2018If Hamas confiscates it or doesn\u2019t let it get through or just confiscates it, then it\u2019s going to end, because we\u2019re not going to be sending any humanitarian aid to Hamas if they\u2019re going to be confiscating it,\u2019\u00a0Biden said Wednesday. \u2018That\u2019s the commitment that I\u2019ve made.\u2019<\/p>\n
The spokesperson stressed that \u2018U.S. assistance for Palestinians does not go to or through Hamas\u2019 and that the aid \u2018provides funding for essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees through vetted international and non-governmental organizations.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018These organizations fill a critical role in providing assistance that would otherwise be filled by terrorist organizations like Hamas,\u2019 the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. \u2018Our trusted partners and beneficiaries are subject to extensive vetting and oversight procedures to help prevent assistance from flowing to individuals or organizations that are affiliated with terrorists.\u2019<\/p>\n
Responding to the criticism, a spokesperson for Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., one of the cosponsors of the effort, said \u2018it makes no sense to condition aid to Israel on aid to Ukraine\u2019 while also stressing that \u2018Gaza is run by Hamas.\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hagerty argued that the \u2018reality is that Hamas controls Gaza, and Hamas will likely find a way to use incoming American taxpayer dollars to further its objective of obliterating Israel.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018This is not\u00a0my\u00a0opinion, but that of Biden\u2019s own State Department that warned that there is \u2018a high risk\u2019 Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza,\u2019 Hagerty said. \u2018Until we know that U.S. taxpayer dollars won\u2019t inadvertently fund Hamas, President Biden should support Israel\u2019s efforts to put Hamas out of business once and for all\u2014rather than push misguided measures to appease the radical far-left, sending taxpayer dollars that will inevitably be diverted to Hamas leadership.\u2019<\/p>\n