For decades, U.S. military aid to Israel has been a sacred cow, with Republicans and Democrats in the United States protecting it from criticism, scrutiny, and particularly any calls for restraint.
But after years of campaigning, Palestinian advocates and regular administrators say the conversation is changing – and what was once a solid, dual wall of support for the unconditional US support for Israel is slowly breaking down.
“In the grand scheme of American politics, we are still on the edge … but a few years ago there was not even room to be on the edge,” said Brad Parker of Defense for Children International Palestine ( DCI) said. -P), which supports the efforts in Congress to condition US funds for Israel.
In April, US Congressman Betty McCollum introduced a bill aimed at ensuring that the $ 3.8 billion that the US gives to Israel each year is not used in the violation of rights against Palestinian children, the destruction of Palestinian property, the removal of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. , or Israel’s efforts to further annex Palestinian land.
The introduced law has the backing of more than a dozen members of Congress, including Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, and many others Palestinian, human rights and liberal Jewish groups, including J Street. This is not the first time McCollum has made such an effort, as the Minnesota legislature has previously introduced similar bills. ‘
“My bill prohibits US funds from supporting or enabling human rights violations,” McCollum told Al Jazeera in an email. “Not $ 1 of US taxpayer money should be used to violate the human rights of the Palestinian people living under Israel’s military occupation.”
In 2016, just months before the end of Barack Obama’s presidency, the US and Israel reached a major agreement under which Washington agreed to provide the Israeli government with $ 38 billion over ten years, an increase of $ 700 million. per year of a previous bilateral agreement.