Biden does not plan restrictions on military aid to Israel, top Senator says

The Biden administration is not seeking to impose any conditions on military aid to Israel, a senior US official told Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday, according to a top Democratic Senator. 

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Wednesday that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told him and other lawmakers there would be no conditions on aid to Israel.

“[Sullivan] made it clear that the White House is not asking for any conditionality in aid. So I want to leave that very clear,” Van Hollen told the Associated Press. 

Van Hollen has taken he lead among Democratic senators pressing the White House to ensure that Israel does more to restrict civilian casualties and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza as it receives US military assistance.

Sullivan met with about 20 Democratic senators on Tuesday to address their concerns about how Israel is waging war in Gaza. 

Biden said last week that imposing conditions on military aid to Israel was a “worthwhile thought”, leading to some speculation that his administration was open to the idea. Sullivan's remarks to lawmakers appear to show the White House is not shifted to that position. 

On Wednesday, Van Hollen released a statement along with Democratic Senators Brian Schatz and Jack Reed calling for the administration to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.

The lawmakers said they were particularly concerned about Israel’s plans to take its offensive to Khan Younis in southern Gaza, noting that the city’s population had nearly doubled to as many of the 1.7 million Palestinians after they were forcibly displaced from northern Gaza by Israel. 

“We are gravely concerned that a resumption in fighting threatens to once again renew the high rate of civilian casualties and further deepen the humanitarian crisis,” they wrote.

The lawmakers said they continued to support military aid to Israel, but the assistance “must be consistent with our interests and values and used in a manner that adheres to international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, and US law.

“We need to find a better path toward helping Israel achieve legitimate military and security objectives. U.S. assistance has never come in the form of a blank check – regardless of the recipient,” they wrote.