Although the House remains paralyzed in the face of a Republican rift that has left the Speaker position empty, four representatives crossed the aisle this week to introduce the “Operation Swords of Iron” Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act to buoy Israeli defenses.
The bill followed the outbreak of a new war between Israel and Palestine over the weekend, when Hamas struck Israel with a sudden, unexpected barrage of missiles and breached the fences surrounding its territory. Hundreds have died on both sides since, and Israel has since launched a so-called siege of the Gaza Strip. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also arrived in Israel this week to survey the situation.
“This week, we’ve seen the full depravity and inhumanity of the Palestinian leadership,” U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said. “This is not Hamas fighting a war against IDF soldiers; this is Hamas attempting to kill, rape, torture, brutalize, and kidnap as many Jews as possible, particularly civilians! In response to these abhorrent crimes and attacks, Israel announced Operation Swords of Iron, a full-scale mobilization of troops, and a massive ground operation in Gaza. I unequivocally support Israel’s right to self-defense and am introducing the “Operation Swords of Iron” Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act to support Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Without the critical Iron Dome system, which intercepts Palestinian rockets in the air, many, many more civilians would have been wounded or killed.”
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, attacked by air, land and sea, killing more than 900 Israelis and 11 Americans, and took hostage over 100 more. In the process, it breached the so-called Iron Dome – Israel’s mobile air defense system, designed to take out short-range rockets and artillery shells. The United States has contributed billions in funds to the system over the years, and now, the Operation Swords of Iron bill would provide a non-appropriated $2 billion more for FY24, as the Secretary of Defense sees fit to back procurements for the Iron Dome defense system.
Tenney introduced the bill alongside U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Max Miller (R-OH), and Brad Schneider (D-IL), and more than a dozen co-sponsors. It was backed by groups including FDD Action, JINSA, CUFI Action, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), and the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
“Radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists are kidnapping, torturing, raping, burning alive, and brutally murdering innocent babies, children, women, men, and grandparents in Israel — parading their bodies through the streets,” Gottheimer said. “Rockets continue to rain down on Israel, and sirens blare in population centers like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where Israelis fear for their lives in bomb shelters. I will always stand with Israel — the democracy in the region — and support our partner’s right to defend herself from those who seek her destruction. The ‘Operation Swords of Iron’ Iron Dome Appropriations Act is critical to increasing American security assistance for Israel’s missile defense system, which is saving millions of innocent lives. The U.S.-Israel relationship will remain, as it has for decades, ironclad.“