New US House leader starts off term with pro-'Israel' act

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Oct 2023 06:02
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In his first action as the leader of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson calls up a resolution in support of "Israel".

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks after his election at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on Oct. 25, 2023. (AFP)

Newly-elected US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson began his new term on Wednesday with a resolution supporting "Israel" following a three-week leadership vacuum that left the Republican-led chamber unresponsive to the developments in Palestine amid the Israeli war on Gaza.

"The first bill I'm going to bring to this floor in a little while will be in support of our dear friend Israel and we are overdue in getting that done," Johnson said as he accepted his new role as Speaker.

The resolution received bipartisan support, garnering 412 votes to 10, with six members voting "present," reflecting the traditionally strong support in Congress for "Israel".

With this non-binding measure, the US has reaffirmed its commitment to "Israel" and called on Hamas to immediately cease attacks and release every hostage.

Democrats gave nine of the "no" votes, saying they opposed the resolution which did not take into account the loss of Palestinian lives.

The House has been without a speaker since October 3, when ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted. It must now deal with an impending $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Taiwan, and border security, and another $14.3 billion package for the Israeli occupation.

US troops in the ME will be under fire when Gaza invasion begins: WSJ

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing Israeli and American officials informed of the matter, "Tel Aviv" has agreed to delay its ground invasion of Gaza in time for Washington to make the necessary arrangements to protect its military bases in the region from possible attacks following the invasion of Gaza.

The Pentagon is reportedly rushing to deploy around a dozen air defense systems in the region to shield US troops, stationed in Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, from possible missile and rocket targets.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, "Israel" will not initiate the ground invasion until after the US has successfully deployed the defense systems in the region, which would be done as soon as this week.

However, "threats to the US troops are of paramount concern", several US military officials told WSJ that American forces will be targeted by various resistance movements once "Israel" initiates the ground invasion of Gaza.

It is important to note that "Israel" has been warned by various groups coordinating together as part of the Axis of Resistance that in the event of a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, the war will expand to entail multiple fronts, noting that all US bases in the region will also be prone to attacks.