U.S. House approves $1 billion for Israel's 'Iron Dome' missile-defense system

[September 24, 2021]  By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to give $1 billion to Israel for its Iron Dome missile-defense system, two days after objections from the most liberal Democrats forced leaders to remove it from a broader spending bill.

The measure passed by 420 to 9 - eight no's from Democrats and one from a Republican - with two members voting present. That sent the measure to the Senate, where leaders have not yet scheduled a vote.

A handful of progressive House Democrats, who have accused Israel of human rights abuses against Palestinians, had objected to the provision's inclusion in the broad spending bill. That threatened the bill's passage, with Democrats only narrowly controlling the House, because Republicans opposed the plan to fund the federal government through Dec. 3 and raise the nation's borrowing limit.

The House passed the broader bill on Tuesday. But the removal of the Iron Dome funding angered centrist Democrats and led Republicans to label the party as anti-Israel, despite a long tradition in the U.S. Congress of strong support from both parties for the Jewish state.

The House's Democratic leaders immediately said they would introduce a standalone bill to provide the Iron Dome funding.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon May 19, 2021 REUTERS/ Ammar Awad/File Photo

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett thanked both parties in the House for their support. "Those who try to challenge this support got a resounding response today," he said in a statement.

The liberal Democrats have criticized U.S.-Israel policy, saying there should be more concern for human rights issues like Palestinian civilian casualties as Israel struck back after Hamas rocket attacks in May.

"We should also be talking about the Palestinian need for protection against Israeli attack," Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, an opponent of the funding, said during debate.

The $1 billion in the Iron Dome funding bill is intended to replace missile interceptors Israel used to ward off rockets fired from Gaza during the May conflict.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)

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