Cruz Intends To Use Gaza’s Pier Problems To Force A Vote

(NewsReady.com) – Under pressure from the far-left, the Biden Administration paused the supply of vital weapons to Israel. At the same time, it built a pier to deliver aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. Now, a Republican senator is trying to force a vote that would shut down the pier, unless the flow of munitions to the Jewish state is turned back on.

On May 16, US Navy and Royal Navy sailors, and US Army combat engineers, finished building a floating dock off the shore of the Gaza Strip. The dock, which includes a causeway so supplies can be driven to the beach, was inspired by the Anglo-American “Mulberry” floating harbors used in the D-Day landings. It allows shipments of food and other humanitarian aid directly into Gaza without having to move through the land crossing points from Israel and Egypt.

However, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is planning to introduce a War Powers Resolution that would block US military personnel from working on the dock unless the Biden Administration lifts its block on the supply of bombs to Israel. Biden imposed the ban in early May after left-wing Democrats complained the Israeli Defense Forces might use US-supplied bombs in an assault on the last remaining Hamas-held city in Gaza.

The House has already passed a bill that would force Biden to lift the ban, but the president is threatening to veto it if it reaches his desk. Cruz has already introduced a similar bill in the Senate, but Biden could veto that one, too. Now, the senator is hoping to use the pier as a negotiating card. If Israel doesn’t get the weapons it needs, the Palestinians won’t get aid delivered by ship.

Cruz is planning to force a vote on a “privileged” resolution, which would be immune from the Senate’s usual 60-vote threshold and could be fast-tracked onto the Senate floor. The move leaves Biden in an awkward position; trailing GOP rival Donald Trump in the polls, he’s already losing votes from the far-left and Muslims. Now, he risks moderate Democrats voting with Cruz to overturn his weapons ban.