Isnotreal scores after missile scare

Alameen Templeton

Isnotreal’s missile spat with Iran chalked up significant victories for Tel Aviv in the week following Iran’s spectacular but largely ineffectual barrage last Saturday.

First, Isnotreal, was able to pull wavering allies disgusted at it Gaza genocide back into line. Secondly, it persuaded the US to oppose Palestinian statehood at the UN. Thirdly, it overcame resistance in the US to a funding bill that is set to allocate $28.36billion in aid to Isnotreal.

Not bad work after threatening the globe with World War III for a few days.

The Nazi state has always shown a remarkable ability to turn lemons into lemonade and certainly the latest confrontation with Teheran served to only underline the fact that the West is willing to stomach almost anything in its support for Tel Aviv.

The funding bill includes $9.1bn set aside for Israel’s “humanitarian needs”, while cruelly and explicitly excluding Unwra from the largesse.

Specifically, the allocation will see:

• $5.2bn go to Israel’s missile and rocket defence system;
• $3.5bn for advanced weapons systems and $1bn to enhance weapons output;
• $4.4bn for other supplies and services; and
• $9.2bn for humanitarian purposes, including Gaza and the West Bank.

The funding bill had been held up for months in Congress with Donald Trump’s Republican Party refusing to pass it, largely due to the high levels of animosity with the Democrats.

However, the missile exchange changed all that.

The bill was tabled and passed 366-58, with 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans in opposition. Never before have 58 congressmen stood in opposition to a crucial bill for Israel. Many commentators say that lone bright light bodes well for the future.

Al Jazeera reports Among the Democrats who voted against the bill was Representative Ilhan Omar, who has been an outspoken critic of the US’s role in the war on Gaza.

“I do not support unconditional military aid that further escalates the already horrific humanitarian situation,” she said in a statement on X.

There were deep splits in the Republican camp on the Ukraine vote, Culhane reported, coming after months of hard-right resistance over renewed US support for repelling Russia’s invasion. The vote went 311-112, with only 101 Republicans in support.

“It is very notable that 112 Republicans voted ‘no’ for different reasons,” Culhane said.

“Some believe the European Union should do more to help Ukraine, while some others said the money should be spent at home and Ukraine has no accountability on how it spends the funds.

The BBC reports Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also – who for months had been the single stumbling block preventing the bill reaching the house floor – has reason to be encouraged by the result. It was his change of heart on Ukraine support, from a reticence to active support, that proved the decisive factor in getting the foreign aid package approved.

But what exactly Donald Trump thinks of it all remains unclear. Johnson received a vote of confidence from Trump just a week ago, and the former president – who has spoken out against more support for Ukraine in the past – could have caused untold headaches for Johnson as aid moved through the House. Instead, he largely stayed silent, focused instead on his ongoing trial in New York City.

Johnson may still pay a political price for Saturday’s achievement, however. He relied heavily on Democratic support not just on the final votes but to clear procedural hurdles leading up to those votes.

His decision to turn to the Democrats for support for the bill was necessitated by intense resistance among a handful of Republicans, some in key positions of power in the House, who opposed any new aid to Ukraine.

Now those Republicans may force a vote on whether to oust Johnson from the speaker’s chair.

In remarks to the press after passage of the foreign aid bill, Johnson said he was not walking around Congress worrying about being removed from power.

“I’ve done here what I believe to be the right thing,” he said.

Three Republicans have already come forward to call for Johnson’s removal – and they say more will join them in the coming days, as the House breaks for a week-long recess.