US lawmakers voted Tuesday to reject a standalone Israel aid bill denounced by critics as a "cynical" bid to thwart a cross-party border security and foreign assistance package that would include cash for war-torn Ukraine. Republicans in the House of Representatives scheduled the vote after the Democratic-led Senate released a bipartisan bill Sunday pairing billions of dollars for Israel and Ukraine with some of the strictest immigration curbs in decades. But support for that $118 billion package has dwindled, with Donald Trump -- who is running for a second White House term -- pressuring Republicans to avoid handing President Joe Biden a legislative victory ahead of November's election. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the border and foreign aid bill was unveiled that it would be "dead on arrival" if it reached the lower chamber of Congress. The standalone Israel bill would have provided $17.6 billion in military aid for the country, which is strongly supported by the vast majority of lawmakers in both parties as it responds to the deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas militants.

But 167 Democrats voted no after Biden had threatened to wield his veto, angered that the legislation appeared aimed at undermining the larger package, hammered out after months of negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators. The standalone bill was also opposed by 13 Republicans as it did not contain budgetary offsets that conservatives have been pushing for with every proposal for new spending. One of Johnson's first actions when he took office in the fall was to shepherd a bill through the House that would have provided $14.3 billion to Israel. But it included steep cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, which Biden opposed. The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus blasted Johnson for "surrendering" to pressure for an even larger package which is not offset by cuts. Biden's Office of Management and Budget had said the Republican "ploy" would undermine efforts to secure the US border and support Ukraine against Russian aggression, while denying humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

But Johnson countered at a news conference Tuesday that it was "outrageous and shameful" Biden would suggest vetoing support for Israel "in their hour of greatest need." House Democratic leaders called the bill a "nakedly obvious and cynical attempt" to undermine the larger package, which ties the Israel cash to $60 billion aid for Ukraine and $20 billion for US border security but is deadlocked in Congress. "Unfortunately, the standalone legislation introduced by House Republicans over the weekend, at the 11th hour without notice or consultation, is not being offered in good faith," House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues. Blinken in Israel for talks on truce deal US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Wednesday, where he was expected to press for what he called an "essential" truce agreement as the war with Hamas entered its fifth month. The diplomat was due to meet Israel's leaders as part of a Middle East crisis tour after earlier stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar. Qatar, which mediated a temporary ceasefire earlier in the conflict, said Hamas had given a response to a new proposed deal to pause the fighting. "The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive," Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said after meeting Blinken in Doha.

Hamas confirmed it delivered its response to proposals hammered out a week ago in Paris between Qatar and other mediators. Blinken said Hamas's reply had been "shared" with Israel and he would discuss it there on Wednesday. He also said there was still "a lot of work to be done" but that he believed "that an agreement is possible and indeed essential". Israel's spy agency Mossad also received the Hamas response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, and "its details are being thoroughly evaluated". Netanyahu, who has yet to comment directly on the response, said on Tuesday: "We are on the way to the total victory and we will not stop." Pressure for a ceasefire has mounted as Israeli forces push towards the town of Rafah on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, where more than half the besieged territory's population has taken shelter. "To be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to large-scale loss of civilian lives, and we must do everything possible within our power to avoid that," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office OCHA.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)