S. 4219 seeks to build a regional defense architecture built around the normalization framework of the Abraham Accords. Rather than grounding regional security cooperation in shared defense interests alone, the bill explicitly ties military cooperation to normalization with Israel, creating an incentive structure for additional military support for Arab states to join the Accords without addressing the core issue that has historically prevented broader normalization: Palestinian self-determination.

The Resolution Standing with the People of Lebanon Against the Illegal Invasion, War Crimes, and Ethnic Cleansing Perpetrated by the State of Israel is a non-binding resolution declaring it the sense of the House of Representatives that it is the policy of the United States to: (1)use U.S. leverage to force an immediate and total Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon and an end to Israeli airstrikes and sovereignty violations; (2) immediately end all unauthorized U.S. participation in hostilities in Lebanon; (3) denounce efforts at territorial expansion and illegal occupation or annexation of Lebanese territory; (4) investigate and prosecute suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Lebanon; (5) cease the transfer of arms, equipment, and logistical support to Israel, which is alleged to be using U.S. weapons in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act; (6) prevent and punish the crime of genocide wherever it occurs; (7) deliver humanitarian and reconstruction aid unconditionally to the Lebanese people and insist upon the safe return of displaced persons; and (8) redesignate and extend Temporary Protected Status for Lebanon until conditions allow the safe return of Lebanese nationals in the United States.

As political pressure builds to reduce U.S. military assistance to Israel, this Bill epitomizes the alternative framework being constructed by the Israel-First lobby: embedding U.S. aid to Israel within America’s own defense industrial base in order to make it harder for Congress to address. 

The Justice for Hind Rajab Act requires the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the January 29, 2024 attack in Gaza City that killed 5-year-old Hind Rajab, members of her family, and two Palestine Red Crescent paramedics. Within 45 days of enactment, the report must detail the Israeli units involved, the circumstances of the attack, whether U.S.-origin weapons, training, or personnel were connected to the incident, and what investigative or accountability actions have been taken, including whether the incident triggers review under the Leahy Laws. If credible information indicates the attack may constitute a war crime involving U.S. weapons, U.S. citizens, or Israeli personnel trained by the United States, the Secretary of State must refer the matter to the Attorney General for review and potential prosecution under the U.S. War Crimes Act. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that the victims’ families should receive acknowledgment and compensation and establishes a policy of preserving evidence of potential war crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas war.

The right to live in dignity and with peace are foundational American values deeply rooted in American culture and reflected in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, while recognition of the right to self-determination is a treaty obligation under the UN Charter, which the United States Senate ratified in 1945. As such, this Resolution accords with American values through its express endorsement that “the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and their own independent state, and to live with dignity and in peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.”

The U.S. has spent over $17.9 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding on weapons for Israel in the past 16 months, and tens of thousands of U.S. munitions have been used against civilian targets in Gaza to devastating effect, resulting in tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and entire cities flattened in what historians, human rights watchdogs, and a U.S. federal judge have found to be a “plausible case of genocide.”

A New Policy supports Congressional condemnation of violations of international humanitarian law, but believes that when such condemnation is made to advance objectives that are inherently political, they lose their credibility. Either the United States Senate supports international humanitarian law, in which case it should condemn all violations thereof, including those by the Government of Israel, or it does not – in which case the Senate should recognize it is selling its moral leadership cheaply.

This Bill attacks the fundamental principle of freedom of speech. It directly targets student protesters that have been the foundation for social movements throughout American history. It is a blatant violation of the fundamental American values of free speech and the right to protest.