By Congresswoman Stephanie Bice
This past weekend, Iran launched its first ever direct strike on Israel. Iran and its proxies, who are the primary backers of Hamas, launched an unprecedented aerial strike, utilizing one-way attack drones, surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, and land attack cruise missiles at our ally, Israel. Thankfully, Israel has the ability to defend itself. With the help of the United States, Israel built a sophisticated defense system, the Iron Dome, which is designed to intercept and destroy rockets and artillery shells. Alongside Israel, the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, and France were able to intercept 99% of the incoming threats. While Iran was not successful in their attempts to wipe out the Israeli people, this attack was a significant escalation in a region where tensions are already high. Iran and their proxies have proven that they want to see the destruction of the state of Israel.
Sadly, this is just the latest escalation under President Biden’s watch. On October 7th, Israel was invaded by Hamas militants, ultimately resulting in the bloodiest day in Israel’s history and the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust. In the months since, the Middle East has become more volatile, with Israel forced to defend itself from rocket barrages on multiple fronts. There have also been more than 165 attacks launched by Iran-backed militants on United States military bases and assets.
Through all this, President Biden has shown weakness. In September of last year, he released $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds as a part of a prisoner swap. Money is fungible, and we must ask if these assets have been used to attack Israel or support Iranian terrorist proxies. We cannot continue a failed foreign policy approach of appeasement. House Republicans will not stand back and watch from the sidelines. This week, we will affirm that Israel has the right to defend itself while also taking action to hold bad actors accountable. We will redesignate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. New sanctions will be placed on Iran, other proxy forces, and any country that supports them. These actions will help deter further aggression in the region.
The United States must show solidarity and support for our greatest ally in the Middle East. As I pray for the people and the state of Israel, I will also be taking action to ensure that they are protected.
