Israeli FM slams US removal of Iron Dome funding from budget bill

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israeli occupation Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday night spoke with US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, slamming the Progressive Democrats pressuring on the Party to remove $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system from a must-pass funding bill to avoid a government shutdown.

During the phone call, Hoyer claimed that the move was a “technical delay” related to discussions over the US debt ceiling and that the defense funding would be approved at a later date, Israeli foreign minister said in a statement.

Hoyer also claimed that it was a view shared by the White House and Democrat House and Senate leaders, while pledging that the Iron Dome funding would soon be allocated, the Foreign Ministry said.

“It is my intention to bring to this floor a suspension bill before the end of this week that will fund fully Iron Dome. I was for that. I’m still for it, we ought to do it,” said Hoyer. “I talked to the foreign minister, Mr. Lapid, just two hours ago and assured him that bill was going to pass this House.”

On Tuesday night, Progressive representatives in the US Congress have successfully removed an extra $1 billion in weapons to the Israeli occupation army. A move that has been seen as a notable victory for Palestinian human rights.

The extra $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome was supposed to be in addition to the nearly $4 billion the US government already sends to the Israeli occupation forces every year.

Since World War II, the United States has given Israel $146 billion in aid, mostly for weapons.

The United States and Israel have an agreement under which the US government will allocate $38 billion from fiscal 2019 through 2028, including $5 billion for missile defense.

A Congress member told The Times of Israel that Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Betty McCollum pushed Pelosi to have the Iron Dome funding removed from the spending bill and managed to succeed through mediation from Congresswoman Rosa Delauro.

Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Pramila Jayapal also threatened to vote against the bill if the Iron Dome funding was included, a Congressional aide said.