Photo: AP/Ohad ZwigenbergIsrael receives more military aid from the United States than any other country, but there is resistance to the new aid package
A humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza it prompted calls for Washington to set conditions on the billions of dollars in military funding and other aid it provides to Israel, he writes Radio Free Europe (RSE).
Since World War II, Israel has received more American foreign aid than any other country.
In 2016, the US and Israeli governments signed a third ten-year Memorandum of Understanding, covering the period from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2028.
The memorandum of understanding provides a total of $38 billion in military aid over 10 years, $33 billion in grants for the purchase of military equipment, and $5 billion for missile defense systems.
The most advanced fighter jet
Israel is the first international operator of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is considered the most technologically advanced fighter aircraft ever built. Israel is in the process of buying 75 F-35s and has taken delivery of 36 of them since last year, paying for them with US help.
The US has helped Israel develop and arm its short-range missile defense system, developed after the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has also repeatedly sent Israel hundreds of millions of dollars to help replenish its stockpile of interceptor missiles.
Washington also helped finance the development of Israel's "David's Sling" system, designed to shoot down rockets fired from a distance of 100 to 200 km.
Campaign against Hamas
Last year, US President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve a $95 billion supplemental spending bill that includes $14 billion for Israel, along with $60 billion for Ukraine, support for Taiwan and billions in humanitarian aid.
That package passed the Senate with 70 percent support in February, but was blocked in the House of Representatives. The leaders of that house did not put the package to a vote, mainly because of their objection to further funding for Ukraine.
There is also resistance from a smaller group of left-leaning Democrats who oppose sending more money to Israel as it wages a military campaign that has killed more than 30.000 civilians in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Support in the United Nations
The United States has long used its veto power in the UN Security Council to block resolutions deemed critical of Israel. Earlier, while the six-month war in Gaza continues, the US vetoed measures that included calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In order to adopt a resolution in the Security Council, at least nine votes are needed, despite the fact that there are no vetoes from the USA, France, Britain, Russia or China, writes Radio Free Europe.
In late March, Washington abandoned its traditional protection of Israel by abstaining from a vote on a resolution calling for a cease-fire, instead vetoing it, although it described the brief as "non-binding."
Washington sided with Israel during the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump, who withdrew the US from the world's most important human rights body, the UN Human Rights Council, in protest at criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Also under Trump, the US left the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in part because of what his administration called bias against Israel.
Trump also reversed decades of American policy in 2017 by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The status of Jerusalem - home to the religious sanctuaries of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions - has been one of the biggest obstacles to achieving a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
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