House Panel Kills Bid to Block US-Israel Military Integration
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- House Armed Services Committee struck down an amendment from Rep. Ro Khanna that would have removed Section 224 from the NDAA, a provision offering Israel "a higher level of military-industrial integration" with the U.S. than any other country.
- Section 224 would shift the $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel — part of a 10-year memorandum of understanding soon up for renewal — into bilateral research, co-production, joint ventures, and "network integration" that could give the Israeli military access to U.S. military data, per Quincy Institute's Ben Freeman.
- Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) defended the provision as "existing initiatives" that "improve oversight and accountability" by designating a single official to coordinate the programs — a claim Freeman called "half-truths and outright inaccuracies."
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) argued Section 224 amounts to "a blank check" for Netanyahu and noted that a majority of Americans say they don't want to send more military aid to Israel.
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb) framed the relationship as a "win-win," calling Tel Aviv "Silicon Valley number two" and calling Israel "the only democracy in Middle East," while Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) warned American national security would be at risk without deeper military ties.
- Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) raised concerns about Israeli-owned Pegasus spyware — blacklisted by two administrations for use against Americans — and noted that Section 224 includes no human rights conditions despite current laws barring weapons transfers to countries committing war crimes.
- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he will work with Khanna to strip the language from the final House NDAA, though the article warns "it will be a hard road ahead."
Why it matters: Section 224 would redirect $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel into co-production and 'network integration' programs buried in Pentagon procurement, locking in the aid through a must-pass bill with minimal oversight at a time when a majority of Americans oppose sending more military aid to Israel.
