FM: John Whitbeck
The fact that the bipartisan $118.3 BILLION "foreign
assistance" bill in the Senate provides for only
$14.3 BILLION of genocide-support tribute to Israel, as
opposed to the $17.6 BILLION provided for in the stand-alone
bill in the House of Representatives, is not the only
difference between the two bills providing ICJ-defying
financial support for the genocide.
As noted in the NEW YORK TIMES news item retransmitted below,
the statement criticizing the House's proposed stand-alone
legislation issued by the White House's Office of Management
and Budget asserts that the House bill "denies humanitarian
assistance to Palestinian civilians," and the Biden
administration has been seeking to distract attention from its
opposition to ending the genocidal assault against the people
of Gaza by purportedly working to enhance deliveries of
"humanitarian aid" while the slaughter continues.
However, the Senate bill, supported by President Biden,
contains a total ban on any further U.S. government funding of
UNRWA, the essential -- indeed, virtually existential --
provider of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and to
other Palestinian refugees elsewhere in the region.
The proposed Senate bill reads: "None of the funds
appropriated or otherwise made available by this division
and division B of this Act, and prior Acts making
appropriations for the Department of State, foreign
operations, and related programs, may be made available for
a contribution, grant, or other payment to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency, notwithstanding any other
provision of law."
One may draw one's own conclusion as to the sincerity of the
Biden administration's purported efforts to enhance
deliveries of "humanitarian aid" to the people of Gaza.