Massive omnibus spending package approved by Congress includes commitment to support two-state solution.
Israel National News
A massive spending package passed by Congress and signed into law last week includes a commitment to back the two-state solution and establishment of a Palestinian state.
Last Thursday night, the US Senate voted 68 to 31 to back the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending plan which had passed the House of Representatives a day earlier, sending it to the White House for signing on Friday.
The spending plan, which included more than $4.8 million in aid for Israel and $1 billion in additional funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system, also included the Israel Normalization Act, a bipartisan measure originally introduced as a stand-alone bill in March 2021.
Drafted by Republicans Rob Portman (Ohio), Jim Risch (Idaho), and Todd Young (Indiana) along with Democrats Ben Cardin (Maryland) and Cory Booker (New Jersey), the act focuses primarily on plans to expand the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab states.
The act requires the State Department to draw up plans to “expand and strengthen the Abraham Accords to encourage other nations to normalize relations with Israel”.
In addition, however, the act affirms American support for the two-state solution and the formation of a “viable democratic Palestinian state”.
Texas Republican Ted Cruz opposed the act and blocked the bill for months in part over the act’s endorsement of the two-state solution.
Content retrieved from: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323870.
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